Five Kingdoms for the Dead
by Evil Is A Relative Term
Summary: After the Forest of Death, Sakura comes to realize that being weak is no longer an option. However, she finds that change is sometimes painful and that truth doesn't always come easy. Luckily, she'll have some help along the way.
1. Time for a Change! REDUX

Disclaimer: All copyright belongs to the appropriate parties, in which I am not included.

What if Sakura had an epiphany in the Forest of Death and refused to be weak then rather than waiting until Sasuke left? See how one decision can change everything. Story begins during the month of training during the chunnin exams.

A/N to the A/N: Because it was causing so much confusion with readers and because I'm attempting to get my house in order, the first twenty-seven chapters were taken down and reposted under "Five Kingdoms for the Dead Original". For all my reviewers, I've saved your reviews elsewhere, so don't think that your time or your feedback have gone to waste. Thank you for being so patient with me, but I also have real life concerns to take care of. Hopefully you may see a new chapter soon.

A/N: I'd been gone for a long time and I was reading over this story, intending to write the next chapter, but I found that I couldn't get past the first few. This story was started a long time ago and I like to think my writing has grown since then—at the very least I hope I'm not so painfully lazy. I realized that while it got better in later chapters, in this first chapter I came dangerously close to the realm of making Sakura a MarySue. But a lot of people have generously supported this story, so I wanted to post it like this allowing my readers to decide whether this works as a more solid beginning, or if I should leave the original chapter posted. I don't think any apology can be made about my long absence, but I lost the inspiration I'd had and I realized I didn't know where this story was going. The tone for the rewrite is very different, as is my Sakura—she doesn't wait for Gai to save her from herself. And I did a little bit of review, and realized that Tsunade's style of taijutsu doesn't work the way I was describing it and I realized I was completing leaving Inner-Sakura out of the first chapters even though she plays a fundamental role later on.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter One-

Time for a Change!

Haruno Sakura kicked her feet idly against the rough concrete of the embankment that overlooked the river that wound through Konoha, half hoping to bruise her heels simply so she could feel _something_.

Sasuke-kun hadn't been at the hospital. She didn't know why she had expected him to be—he only had a month to prepare for the final stage of the chunnin exam. The memory of the events that had transpired in the Forest of Death flashed through her mind, but in the warm, bright heart of the city she loved, it almost seemed like a bad dream.

Tilting her head back, jade eyes narrowed against the sun, she let the breeze dishevel her butchered hair further. It had been her first great sacrifice as a ninja and utterly ineffectual. She had to be _saved_, for kami's sake, like some civilian. _It wasn't too far from the truth_.

Usually, it would be Inner-Sakura's place to say something, declare their superiority, but Inner-Sakura had gone still and silent since the match with Ino. She'd still needed to be saved, still needed Naruto-baka's shouting to throw off the Shintenshin jutsu. But she'd done it._ Proving myself Ino's equal saved my pride as a kunoichi. _But it had destroyed her pride as a _shinobi_.

Head still tilted back, Sakura gently blew her bangs out of her eyes, the fine candyfloss strands catching at the light. Kakashi-sensei was gone too. She hadn't noticed, until Naruto told her. It had been a brief conversation as he'd been busy evading Ebisu-sensei. She hadn't seen him since.

_So what now?_

That was the question, wasn't it? Sakura had come to a wall in her training. It was taller than she could climb, too long to walk around. And Kakashi-sensei had shut the door behind him when he left. Sakura wasn't any sort of prodigy and she'd never pretended to be—civilian children didn't get to be ninja prodigies.

_If I wasn't there, would Kakashi-sensei notice? _She silently asked her reflection in the water. _Sasuke-kun…wouldn't._

Her legs felt heavy, she thought, the sun too warm against her hair. Ino was still training. Asuma-sensei was training his whole team, even though only one had made it into the finals. _It won't be long before I'm not even Ino's equal anymore. _

She was trapped by circumstance and by her own passive inability to do anything. _Even to feel angry._

Sakura felt protected by her team. But it was the smothering kind of protection. They hadn't left her alone enough to force her to struggle to make her own way, like Naruto, but she hadn't been taught patiently and exclusively like Sasuke-kun. She didn't have connections with the clans. Didn't even know more than a handful of jounin. _Even if I knew the questions, who am I supposed to ask?_

So that left her here, on the embankment, staring down at the running water below and pretending she could see herself in it. A bird in a padded cage, thrashing its wings against the bars. A prettily colored songbird, freshly fledged, trying to fly with hawks.

_Poor little Sakura-chan, _she mocked her almost-reflection, _who needs you?_

As focused as she was, she almost fell from her perch when a familiar voice declared, "What a way to waste the flower of your youth! Flowers should be blooming in training fields, not wasting their days on walls!"

When she had finally regained her balance, both literal and metaphoric over Gai's Dramatic Entrance, she managed to compose a reply that sounded only slightly bitter. "Everyone else is training for the last round of the chunnin exams."

"And?" Gai demanded. "Surely that is not enough of a reason for you to be wilting here. Defeat is only the opportunity for improvement!"

Sakura was reminded suddenly of Lee. Anyone else would have given up—he'd been told from the very beginning he would never be a ninja, but he'd proved them wrong. Again and again, he'd triumphed over people who told him what he couldn't do. Even now he was struggling against his own body, the one that the medics said would never walk properly again. But Sakura was suddenly certain if anyone could overcome the wall of _can't_ it was Rock Lee.

All he'd needed, she realized, was a teacher. Not to shove him over the wall, but to show him how to open the door.

"Gai-sensei," she asked hesitantly, because no matter what her stance on taijutsu or youth, she knew her courage wouldn't last, "would it be an imposition if I attended your training sessions? I…don't know where Kakashi-sensei is, really, but he didn't…." her voice trailed off. "Ah," Gai said, rubbing his hand thoughtfully across his square jaw, "I see your problem. But fear not!" He struck his Nice Guy pose, smiling widely. "It just so happens that I also have some time to spare."

Sakura had to blink to clear her vision from the accompanying teeth sparkle that accompanied the statement. "Isn't Hyuuga-san in the finals?"

"Ah, Neji. He and my youthful student Tenten are working together on some secret training." Gai winked at her. "And with Lee on bedrest and no missions while our guests are in town, it can be nothing but karmic destiny—when the student is ready, the teacher appears!"

Sakura felt a chill run down her spine and premonition that she'd just received far more than what she'd asked for.

"So, youthful student, what is it you have and what is it you lack?"

_Everything_ didn't seem like an appropriate answer, so she started with what she had. "Chakra control," she said, suddenly bold. "I don't waste chakra with my jutsu." Primarily because she had little enough to spare, but that was beside the point. Sometimes it was the destination rather than the journey.

"Chakra control, eh? A valuable talent. But it is all about the application. You've done the tree climbing exercise with Kakashi?"

"Yes." _I didn't fall, not once, but I didn't get to the top, either. I made it to where the branches split and then stopped. And I was so proud. _

"What about water walking?"

Remembering how Kakashi-sensei had run across the water like it was a solid surface when he'd fought Zabuza in the Land of Waves, Sakura shook her head.

"Well, now is as good a time as any!" Gai declared, vaulting over the low concrete wall and onto the river, where he stood waiting for her.

Sakura looked dubiously at the flowing water, but she was sure that it could be done if he had asked her to do so. Her jade eyes narrowing, she accessed the exercise. It would be all about the flow of her chakra. Trees were steady. They grew slowly. But water was swift and changeable. She wouldn't simply be able to pool chakra into the soles of her feet. Glancing over at Gai, who was waiting patiently, smiling encouragingly at her, she thought it would be easier if she could practice in the shallows first.

But the reason why the embankment was here was because there wasn't a shore, the river running slow but deep. _I've always been practicing in the shallows_, Sakura realized. Guessing at the chakra, she gathered her courage, leaping from the wall.

The cool water swallowed her and she went under with a shriek. "Gah!" she gasped as her head broke the surface, her hair looking even more pitiful than normal. Paddling to stay afloat, she knew what had gone wrong. She hadn't adjusted to the chakra fluctuation in time. For a vibrant moment, she remembered feeling the water as solid as a sheet of glass under her, then falling through.

_But I'm not beaten. I know how to do this now. _Pooling chakra in the feet was something habitual, something a ninja learned to do quickly and instinctively with repetition. But chakra could be drawn to any part of the body. It was another of the things Sakura had never had trouble with.

Settling the chakra in her hands, she pulled herself out of the water. Dripping, still a little out of breath from the shock of the water, she stayed on her hands and knees. But she was on top of the water. Clenching her fists, she looked over at Gai-sensei, who hadn't moved to help her. He hadn't _saved _her. "I did it, Gai-sensei," she declared. "I did it!"

Inner-Sakura, who been so silent, punctuated the statement in her mind. _CHA!_

"See? The flower of youth was always there, waiting to be picked!"

"Yeah," she breathed, getting to her feet.

"So, Sakura-chan, are you ready for the plan of youth?"

She nodded curtly, still riding on the sheer feeling of accomplishment.

"Our time is short, but the fires of our youth burn high! I will teach you the highest of the ninja arts, taijutsu! At its heart, taijutsu is more than just a bunch of awesome moves. It is speed and stamina. And heart! Never forget heart. Chakra control is what you have. Somewhere is the distant sunset that is taijutsu. In this month, we will race with all the power of our youth to catch it!"

Even though she was soaked, her pink hair clinging unattractively to her face, a triumphant smile crossed her face and Sakura gave him a snappy salute. "Yes, Gai-sensei!"

His plan, as it unfolded, was to teach her the introductory katas and forms to five different schools of taijutsu. He didn't expect her to master them. He didn't even expect her to like most of what he'd begun calling their "Proof of a Youthful Heart Grand Taijutsu Five Nations Challenge." In the spirit of the chunnin exams, which stressed cooperation, he was picking a taijutsu style from each of the five major Shinobi Nations. She was reminded again just how awesome the jounin who had survived the attack of the Kyuubi were.

Sakura was building a close and personal relationship with regret. She was being equipped with weights that she was sure were going to make walking impossible and pull her arms out of her sockets in one of the many specialty stores in the village.

"Don't you think these are a little heavy?" She asked, trying hard not to sound like she was whining.

Gai-sensei waggled his finger at her. "Chakra control is your specialty. You have likely already discovered that cycling chakra through your muscles can augment their strength. What I'm asking of you is to do that continually."

"Continually?" she asked weakly.

"Yes! Only when we dig deep can we find our limits, and only then can you overcome those limits with the power of your youth!" This time Sakura didn't react when he struck a pose. The chunnin behind the counter only raised an eyebrow, which Sakura took to mean that Gai was a frequent customer.

The bell at the door rung and the shop attendant called out a greeting.

"Ah, hello Maru-kun," the familiar voice of the Hokage said.

Sakura peered at her village leader through the veil of her bangs, adjusting the weighted plates that covered her forearm like a bracer.

"Gai, Sakura-chan, good morning," he greeted as he saw them.

Gai-sensei immediately came to attention, returning the salutation with vigor. Sakura's greeting was polite and quiet, she a little in awe at being addressed so directly.

"This is quite an unusual combination," the Hokage observed. "Are you training?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I've taken over Sakura-chan's training for the duration of the chunnin exam, so that the blossom of her youth will not wither!" Gai announced.

The Hokage chuckled and stroked his beard. "That's good, good. Are you looking forward to your training, Sakura-chan? Taijutsu, I assume, since you're training with Gai."

With great flair, Gai-sensei recounted his "Proof of Youthful Heart Grand Taijutsu Five Nations Challenge" and Sakura blushed when the Hokage's brows rose at the name.

"A very ambitious training program," he said when Gai-sensei had finished. "But I should have expected nothing less from you, Gai."

The praise made Gai smile even more widely than before, and he brought his hand to his chin, nodding in self-satisfaction. "Well, it can all be attributed to the power of youth," he said.

That made the Hokage chuckle again. "Yes. The youth of Konoha are our most precious resource." He stroked his beard in consideration and to Sakura he almost appeared to be hesitating. "Sakura-chan, you are on Naruto-kun's team. Is he doing well?"

"Yes, sir," Sakura answered.

"Ah. I remember your fight in the second round. It was very impressive. You have the potential to become a very talented kunoichi."

Before Sakura could stop herself, she said, "I want to be a good _shinobi_."

The Hokage looked startled, but then his wrinkled face relaxed back into a smile. "I see. Sakura-chan, have you heard of my student?"

"Which? One of the legendary Sannin?"

"Yes. Specifically, the Slug Princess, Tsunade."

"Yes, sir."

"And what have you heard of her?"

"She was medic-nin," Sakura replied, "and she had monstrous strength."

"Not inaccurate," he chuckled. "But the description always falls far short of the reality. Sakura-chan, how would you like to learn that same monstrous strength?"

Sakura froze, struck by the offer. "Really?"

"Really. I'm afraid I can't spare much time, but I think once a week we could meet. Your score on the first part of the chunnin exam was very impressive—you were one of few to receive a perfect score."

Sakura flushed under the praise.

"What I found more impressive was that you didn't find it necessary to cheat. Not all the jounin shared my opinion," and Sakura flinched, "but judicious use of knowledge, eliminating the need for ninja cunning, is not always a bad thing."

Sakura hunched her shoulders forward, knowing he wasn't really trying to criticize, but still feeling the sting. "I would be honored to learn anything you saw fit to teach me, Hokage-sama."

His eyes were kind as he looked at her. "The desire to acquire knowledge and to be prepared is not something to be ashamed of, Sakura-chan. Some ninja have a genius of improvisation. Others make careful planning look like the work of a moment. It is not a bad thing to be the latter."

Sakura nodded, not quite agreeing.

"This evening, report to the Hokage Tower when you have finished your training with Gai. You will undoubtedly find me at my desk, swamped with paperwork. Now, Maru-kun, the reason I came…"

Sakura stared determined at her feet, slowly releasing the tension that had built in her jaw and shoulders. She started when Gai-sensei clapped her on the shoulder. "You have received an invitation of youth!" he declared, pumping his fist. "So while we are filled with fire, let us proceed. To the training grounds!"

In the manner of one used to obeying commands Sakura tried to take a step and almost fell over. It was like someone had encased her feet with concrete. She could barely lift her legs, let alone dash forward into any sunsets.

"Hurry! We must not let the flames of our youth flicker!" Gai-sensei urged, "We must seize the flower of youth while it is still in bloom. Those weights are only equal to your body weight! They are the feathers with which you will fly."

Sakura suddenly knew what was meant by the term _killing intent_. Grinding her teeth together, she began circulating her chakra, taking her first, cautious step toward freedom.

By afternoon the fire of killing intent had turned to cold ash.

_Murder's too good for him, cha. _Inner-Sakura declared in a tired voice. Sakura had never known her other personality to be anything less than ready for action, but the constant chakra use was getting to them both. She had a headache, she couldn't feel her fingers, and she could've sworn she'd hear her knees creaking as she went through her assigned kata for the third time.

It was the hardest training she'd ever done, without exception. _Break _was apparently a foreign word. When she got tired, Gai-sensei only changed the exercise to something involving a different muscle group. Sweat made her red dress cling to the small of her back, her legs, and she could feel it running between her nonexistent breasts. Her hair, which had dried after her dip in the river, was plastered on her red, sweaty cheeks.

"Alright!" he declared, clapping her hands.

Sakura didn't even have the energy to drop to the ground. If she sat down, she might never get up again. "Geh," she said as she decided she didn't care. The worn grass felt wonderful.

"Not bad, not bad," he muttered to himself. "Your stamina, chakra reserves, and speed are all dismal," Gai-sensei told her and Sakura let her head drop roughly to the ground. "But now that we know where you are, we can move to where you want to be. Study the katas I taught you. I'll expect to see you tomorrow, with the fires of your youth stoked high!"

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura rolled to her side, curling into herself.

_We'll do better tomorrow, cha, _Inner-Sakura declared. Inner-Sakura never knew doubt.

Sakura had no such stopgap. _Gai-sensei is going to kill me. _She was a paper ninja. She could calculate herself out of any situation, outwit any enemy—on paper. Sakura allowed her lashes to flutter closed and she breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of dust and grass, waiting until her lungs hurt to release the breath.

Her eyes came open. _If I'm only a paper ninja, I'll be the best one. A month of taijutsu might kill me, but I'm a gennin now. That means I have access to the scroll archives. _

Levering herself off the ground, she ambled in the direction of the village, planning as she went. Inner-Sakura, recovering far faster than her outer personality, kept up a commentary.

Noting how people were glancing at her, she brushed sweaty hair out of her eyes with a hand that still shook with chakra exhaustion. She could have went home and showered, but suddenly it seemed like she didn't have enough _time_. Approaching the building, she nodded at the chunnin guard who looked critically at her as she passed.

It was cooler inside, the humidity and temperature kept low in order to minimize damage to the scrolls. What was stored here was general access; rare scrolls were kept in vaults elsewhere or in clan libraries. She hesitated before she approached the desk. The jounin manning it had been taken off the active duty list after sustaining heavy injuries on a mission to Cloud and he'd never gotten over it. Sakura thought he effectively discouraged rowdy gennin from the archives, with his heavy, foreboding brows and the scarring across his face.

"Did you need something?" he asked repressively, glaring at a chunnin who was attempting to scamper away without being seen.

"Yes," Sakura said hesitantly. In her mind, she replayed the conversation she'd had after they'd first met Haku, about hunter-nin. "I'd like to look at the anatomy scrolls used to train hunter-nin."

The jounin's dark eyes narrowed, a frown firming his mouth. "What rank are you?" he demanded.

"Genin," Sakura admitted.

"And you want to look at scrolls meant for hunter-nin?"

"Yes," she replied, becoming more bold. The worst he could do was say no. Well, actually, worse-case scenario said he killed her for being impertinent, but she was ignoring that option.

He stared at her for a long time, assessing. She clenched her fists to stop the trembling in her muscles. She wasn't scared, just tired, but he might see it as fear.

"I have a few texts I'd recommend you look at before you try anything higher level," he said at last. "If you can prove to me you know what's in them, I'll help you look for anything you want."

Sakura nodded, satisfied with their compromise.

"This way," he commanded, his dark aspect never lightening.

She followed, flinching as he stopped suddenly. "If you disappear with that scroll Genma, I'm authorized by the Hokage to hunt you down."

A man with light brown hair cut to his jawline was sprawled in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs, rolling a senbon from one side of his mouth to the other. "Yeah, yeah, Suzuki-san."

When they finally reached the area, Suzuki-san never even hesitated as he handed her several thin volumes. "I'll need your name for the register if you intend to leave the archives with these," he told her, volumes outstretched.

"Haruno Sakura," she said, taking them, her expression filling with determination. Glancing at the clock as the jounin walked away, she realized that she had at least an hour before evening would technically be here. Claiming one of the wooden tables for herself, she opened the pages, stiff with little use, and began to read.

By 19:00 she was at the Hokage's Tower, standing uncertainly outside his office, the one book she'd taken with her tucked under her arm. Raising her hand, she knocked.

"Enter," came the invitation.

The Hokage had his head bent over paperwork as she entered, neat stacks beside each elbow. "Ah, Sakura-chan," he greeted as he looked up. "How was your training?"

"Hard," she admitted.

"Good," he replied. "Training should always be difficult. How else would we learn? But I suppose you're not here to listen to an old man's ramblings. Shall we begin your lesson?"

"Please."

"Very well. From what I've been able to see from my window, it's such a nice evening. Why don't we go down by the river?"

Sakura followed in the wake of the Hokage, head down, book clasped in front of her. He greeted almost everyone they passed, so it took them a long time to make it to the training grounds by the river. She glanced around. It was close to the training ground that Team Seven used, but she'd never been to it before.

"Ah, I see you brought a book. What is it about?" he asked her pleasantly as he turned to face her.

Sakura stumblingly tried to explain her idea.

"So you want to be precise with your taijutsu, the same way you would with your chakra. It's a good idea. A very good idea. Human beings," he said as he put his hands behind his back, "are fragile creatures. And the better you understand the human body, the more you learn to exploit that frailty. But knowledge of anatomy isn't simply useful for killing; it also teaches you how to not make mistakes that would leave a target dead when the objective is to capture them alive. In part, that is why there is such an emphasis on it in the training we give hunter-nin."

"But it will also allow you to understand how your own body works, to make it a more effective tool. Knowledge is a weapon as dangerous as any kunai. And knowledge," he said, "is why we are here. Pay attention, Sakura-chan, and I will tell you everything you need to be a good shinobi."

Sakura basked in the indulgent warmth of a bath after she returned home. Realizing she was in danger of drowning, she sat up straighter, but as soon as she relaxed she began to slide back down. For part of her session with the Hokage, she'd been so far past tired she'd begun to be exhilarated. But it had lasted only long enough to see her home and after a shower, a quick dinner her mother had left wrapped in the refrigerator for her, and now her bath, she wondered if death by drowning was such a bad way to go. At least everything wouldn't hurt so much.

Scowling, she rubbed her forearms, where the shifting of her weights had left red marks. She'd wrap her arms with bandages tomorrow, she decided, finally standing and letting the water out of the tub. Her mother and father had taken their own baths and went to bed long before she'd returned home.

It stung as she disinfected the scrapes she'd acquired, but there hadn't been too much live combat today. For her training with Gai-sensei, it had mostly been watching intently as he demonstrated the katas, then careful emulation as he forced her to run them through until she'd memorized every movement. With the Hokage, it had been meditation as he lectured her, building up high concentrations of chakra in targeted areas of her body, then redirecting it back into her chakra paths.

Tomorrow would be a very different experience. She'd train with Gai-sensei until well in the afternoon, then spend some time at the archives. After that Sakura planned to return to the training grounds, running through the basic meditation exercises the Hokage had shown her. She wouldn't be able to meet with him again until next week. Running a village apparently required a lot of paperwork, which was tripled with the arrival of foreign ninja, who needed to be hosted, entertained, and watched while they were in the village.

She didn't look up at the bathroom mirror as she walked down the hall and up the stairs to her bedroom. Sakura didn't think she could stand to look at herself yet. _But soon_, Inner-Sakura cheered, _Soon._

Something had disturbed her dream about a pleasantly compliant Sasuke-kun. Muttering a muffled curse and realizing she fallen asleep face-down on her pillow, she raised herself up with her elbows and peered blearily at her clock. 4:30.

_What in kami-sama's name is awake at 4:30? _Inner-Sakura grumbled.

When she spotted the fearsome green beast perched on her window, she knew. "Gai-sensei," she groaned.

"Well, it looks like you need some lessons on being aware of your surroundings," he commented. "I was here for five minutes before you woke up."

_Does that mean if we'd kept sleeping, you wouldn't have bothered us? _Inner-Sakura replied nastily.

"What is it, Gai-sensei?" was what Sakura said aloud.

"Training, of course! If the sun is up, you are late. Be at the gates of Konoha in ten!" With that he disappeared from her window sill.

Sakura swore her joints were going to give out as she pried herself from the warmth of her bed. Stumbling downstairs, she washed her face, brushed her teeth, and felt only slightly more awake as she returned upstairs. Remembering to step lightly as her parents were still asleep she made her bed and then turned to rummage for her things. She'd been so tired she'd left her equipment on the floor where she'd shed it and she nearly broke her toes on her leg weights.

Pulling out her training dress she made a dismal prediction on how long the fabric would hold out if she started training seriously. But after shaking it a few times to rid it of the worst of the wrinkles and ignoring the fact that it smelled like stale sweat, she pulled it over her head. Her weights, which really looked and acted like bracers, went on next, after she wrapped her arms. Last was pulling back her hair, which she found it was barely long enough for. She imagined the effect was a rather boyish style, if it hadn't been for the color. Her body could certainly pass as a boy's. Nonexistent was the right term for her figure.

But that was neither here nor there, she thought as she leaped up into her window. _It's strange. I should be miserable. I'm awake well before the sun and I'm in for an entire day of Gai-sensei. But I'm happy. For the first time in a long time, I'm really happy. _

That marked the pattern of Sakura's days for the next four weeks, regular as clockwork. Most of the day with Gai-sensei, who spent less and less time teaching her and more time fighting her. Afternoon, after a late lunch, was spent reading through scrolls and books in the archives under the gaze of Suzuki-san. Sakura had always been able to memorize easily and as she spent more time at it, she learned how to read quickly, skimming redundant information, taking note of new ideas and references to other sources. And, once a week, she studied under the Hokage, whose title as "the Professor" was well earned. While he watched her struggle with the taijutsu style of Tsunade, he lectured her on whatever happened to be weighing on his mind—history, politics, sometimes even jutsu.

She sometimes wondered if, in the future, when someone yelled, "Now switch!" at her, she'd automatically fall into a new taijutsu style. That was often how Gai-sensei transitioned his instruction, right in the middle of a match. Silent Kill, the modified taijutsu equivalent to Zabuza's technique. Crane Dance, the style from Rain that used very formal, stylized "dances" to strike at nerve centers. Breath of Stone, the Earth style that focused almost absolutely on defense and counterstrike, using chakra to dissipate the force behind a blow across the body. Shifting Sands, from Wind country, the style most difficult to practice because it always used fatal force.

The last was her best style, as strange as it was, because it demanded absolute chakra control. If she wavered, the attack was a damaging to her as her opponent. But Sakura's control had only increased with her training with Gai-sensei's shadow clones. Shifting Sands was like the name implied, smooth, subtle, and as harsh as the desert region where it originated. Dodging wasn't simply throwing her body out of the way, it was being just enough not-there when the blow landed that she needed no recovery time. Attacking focused heavily on the legs, to a kunoichi's advantage, and an open palm rather than a closed fist.

It wasn't brute force like Tsunade's style. If she kicked a tree with her chakra focused in her legs, releasing it all in a burst, she could knock it down, ripping the trunk into two with the force of the blow. In Shifting Sands, she didn't just kick the tree down—the tree would quite literally explode, the bark where her foot touched left intact but everything else blown away in dangerous splinters. When used on Gai-sensei's clone, in the millisecond before they turned into smoke, the effect was not unlike one of the slasher movies she'd watched at Ino's house when her father was away on missions.

On the day of the final phase of the exam Sakura woke well before dawn, a now ingrained habit.

_I can see this pissing us off in the very near future, _Inner-Sakura growled. While Sakura had been able to pretend to be pleasant in the mornings, Inner-Sakura had made no such efforts. She was awake, aware, and furious about that fact.

But Sakura smiled, because it was a little victory. "Success is built on small things," she told her reflection, echoing the words of the Hokage. Snapping directly into awareness, being able to get out of bed and prepare to run laps around Konoha until her breath rasped in her lungs with a light heart, all of it couldn't have been done by the Sakura of four weeks ago.

Some of it had been hard. Some had come naturally, like it was waiting to be awakened, years of conditioning in the ninja academy finally coming to fruition. Carelessly dressing, because she'd have to change later, she leaped outside, chanting in her head the information from yesterday's scrolls as she ran. Her research had led her to strange explorations, guided in part by Suzuki-san, authorized by the Hokage. There was a box at the foot of her bed of old scrolls and scroll cases, weathered badly and some of the seals broken with age. The Hokage had allowed her to withdraw them from one of the vaults that were usually kept sealed.

"Harmless things, C-class jutsu mostly, but perhaps you will find them useful," he'd told her at the time as he glanced through the box. She'd been helping to clean the vault as part of the agreement to borrow things and her eyes had been red-rimmed from all the dust. That particular vault was the remnant of a very brief period of intense information suppression just after the founding of Konoha and the Hokage had been very liberal with allowing her to read the scrolls.

_I need to return them soon, before Team Seven goes back on active duty_, she reminded herself. Preservation was implied in the borrowing and she thought she might need Suzuki-san's help with a few of the badly water-damaged ones, to see if anything could be done to make them more legible.

When she felt she'd done enough and run another three laps for good measure, she returned to her house, debating on entering through the door or the window.

_Ninjas always take the window! _Inner-Sakura declared and Sakura followed her advice.

Showering quickly despite knowing she had hours before the event, she debated what to do when she saw her teammates today. _Screw Kakashi-sensei_, Inner-Sakura snarled. _If he wants to know what we've been doing, he could have been here._

_ Okay_, Sakura agreed. _But what about Naruto and Sasuke-kun? _

Inner-Sakura fell silent, which led Sakura to believe she was as confused about that as Sakura herself. Except Inner-Sakura was herself. Sort of. It was all very confusing.

Reaching for her shampoo, she snorted as she saw the label. She hadn't even known "Deciduous Forest" was a scent until two weeks ago when Gai-sensei, just to prove he could, put in ear-plugs, blind-folded himself, and tied his hands behind his back. He'd then proceeded to utterly thrash Sakura in their match. Sakura was half-certain he could just sense her, but he'd told her that her scent was a dead giveaway. So now even her deodorant was scent-blocking. Trees, she was told, didn't sweat.

Her hair was still ragged and looked like she'd cut it with a kunai, which admittedly had been what had happened. When she pulled it back into a ponytail centered at the back of her head it just looked spiky in the back, but there was no disguising her bangs. Bangs were useful. Sakura couldn't completely control her reactions yet and they helped to disguise her wide jade eyes, which she'd been told time and again were her most expressive feature.

_Wonder if Kakashi-sensei's mouth is his most expressive feature? _Inner-Sakura asked idly. Sakura snickered at the implication as she finished dressing. Her prediction that her dress wouldn't survive had been sadly accurate. Turned out loose red fabric was not kunai proof. Zipping up her new top over the chest bindings she felt were rather needless, she tugged the sleeveless deep green top into place. The style was similar to what the operatives of ANBU wore and the color flattered both her eyes and skin tone.

_Vanity, thy name is Sakura_, Inner-Sakura chided.

_Take a hike_, she commanded her other personality.

_Oh, but it's so dark and empty in here_, Inner-Sakura returned. _I might be attacked or something._

Adjusting her collar in the mirror, Sakura realized she was about to enter into a war of insults with her split personality. _Do you think something is wrong with us?_ She asked the persona she'd always thought of as her deepest and most secret self. Which was unsettlingly violent, but that was beside the point.

_What do you mean?_

_At the exam, Ino said something about "two minds" or something. Which means you might not be…me. _

_ Are you inferring that I'm a personality disorder? _

_ You said it, not me. _

_ …I don't know. _

Deciding that if she was crazy it wasn't something to worry about in the here and now, she strapped on her kunai holster over her fitted shorts. Loose fabric was only for good ninja she'd learned, like long hair. And while Sakura thought she might no longer be a burden on her team, she wasn't nearly arrogant enough to pretend that she was a good shinobi. Metal and fabric scraped against wood as she picked up her forehead protector from her vanity, tying it loosely around her neck like she'd seen Hyuuga Hinata wearing it.

She'd been able to stop bandaging her arms after three weeks of the weights, which were the things she always put on last in the morning. Leg weights first, their matte black plates running the length of her shin, then her arm weights. She meant only to glance in the mirror, but then Inner-Sakura spoke up.

_Wow, Sakura, dye your hair and you'll pass for a boy. And Sasuke-kun would still be prettier than you. _

"Shut up," she growled out loud. _Did everyone's self-consciousness grow a voice, or is that just me?_

_ Just you. _

_ Shut up. _

But she knew Inner-Sakura had a point. Ino's waist was small enough she could tie her forehead protector around it and Hinata-chan hadn't been hiding anything with that coat. Sakura wasn't fat, but she was solid through the torso, and her month of training had only made things worse. Now her sleeveless top exposed arms with visible lines of muscle and there was nothing dainty about her calves and thighs, which she'd built up long ago with all her running away.

"But I would be a damn good looking boy," she finally snarled at her reflection, disgusted with herself. She knew well enough that the extreme stress ninja training had on the body often delayed puberty, especially in females. If the Hokage's stories were anything to go by, Tsunade herself had been pretty flat-chested, and now her chest was often mentioned as one of her "legendary assets". Her problem was that she was surrounded by pretty, pretty men. Anyone would get a complex.

It was just dawn as she slipped downstairs, but her father was already awake, busy at the stove. She didn't speak to him, as he was about as amiable as Inner-Sakura this early, so she quietly set the table. Sakura hadn't actually seen her mother often during this month, as every hour had been devoted almost obsessively to training, but there was always dinner in the refrigerator when she came home, a bento waiting for the next day.

They ate in silence and when Sakura had finished the dishes, she slipped out the door. Her relationship with her parents was complex. Her father was distant, formal with her, spoke to her rarely. She'd never in her life addressed him as "tou-san." He wasn't native to Konoha, having immigrated during the last ninja war. She didn't know from where. When he'd married her mother, he'd married into her family, taking on her name and eventually taking over the Haruno business when her grandparents had declared their son-in-law competent. That was all Sakura knew of her father's history.

Her mother was a different case. Resentment of Sakura's chosen path and her own inability to bear a second child sometimes caused her to lash out at her daughter. She never apologized, but sometimes there were extra treats left on the counter. Her mother was a daughter whose husband had inherited over a natural son. There was always a hard look in her eyes when she returned from visiting Grandfather and Sakura would know he had complimented one of her cousins. It was she who had told Sakura, "Girls should always be neat and clean. When you play with boys, let them make the decisions."

Sakura loved her mother best from far away.

Striking out onto the streets of Konoha, Sakura watched her beloved city come slowly to life, vendors setting up stalls and competing for space to display their wares.

She was setting on the corner of a building, watching nobles trail through the streets in a sluggish procession to the stadium when she heard a familiar voice below.

Sakura smiled with delight as she saw Ino haggling with a jewelry vendor. Leaping from her vantage point and using the striped overhang of a stall selling baked goods to propel herself forward, she landed next to her friend and rival.

"I-no," she said teasingly, drawing her attention, "isn't it a little early to be showing off your pigheadedness?"

"Hey," Ino protested, "that's just mean. What about you? What's that billboard brow of yours doing up so early?"

"Me? Early? Have you checked the time lately? It's almost time to go if we don't to miss the opening ceremonies."

Ino cursed, leaving her bargaining, which made her angry. She stomped her way through the crowd easily, threading between people with the grace of a professional kunoichi.

"Say, Ino, didn't you get enough beauty sleep? I mean, you'd have to sleep as much as Shikamaru-kun to make any real difference, but still…" Sakura teased as she followed, laughing quietly.

Ino turned on her abruptly. "And you!" she accused.

"And me what?" Sakura prompted.

"You!" Ino jabbed a finger in her direction. "Where have you been? One hospital visit to see Sasuke-kun and Lee-san and then you disappear into thin air!"

"Isn't that what a ninja is supposed to do?" Sakura asked, being purposely oblique. The truth was she hadn't thought of anyone—not Ino, not Sasuke-kun, nor any of the Rookie Nine—during her training. It had possessed her entirely, but she felt not a shred of guilt. Until she became a shinobi worth noticing, she wasn't worthy of meeting them again.

She still wasn't a shinobi worth noticing, but now it would be flat out rude to ignore them and unlike Sasuke-kun or Naruto, being polite was something ingrained into Sakura. And she had missed them. Ino especially, because now they could be friends again, without their rivalry for Sasuke-kun's affections coming between them.

_It was my fault, _Sakura acknowledged as she looked at her friend. _That was all in my head—it was me who forced him between us. _Looking at the fabric-covered bun that hid her friend's shortened hair, Sakura felt regret. _Ino always had such pretty hair. _

Abruptly, so abruptly she startled the other girl, Sakura said, "I haven't been a very good friend Ino. But I'll be a better one. I promise."

Ino blinked her eyes slowly, then tilted her head and put a hand on one hip. "What are you talking about, forehead-girl? We're both going to be better friends, remember?"

A wide, genuine smile crossed Sakura's face. "Yeah, I got it, Ino-pig."

"Now if you're done being totally weird, let's go score some good seats."

Sakura was content to follow Ino as she navigated them through the crowd. Actually, it might have been a lie to say that she hadn't thought about any of her teammates. Naruto had been on her mind often enough, every time she found herself eating dirt and unsure if she could stand up again.

She'd had Inner-Sakura shout it at her often enough, _If Naruto can get up from being beaten within an inch of his life, don't you think_ _even _you _could do this? _She'd taunted herself with his unfailing spirit and unarguable results until rage had given her the strength to get up again.

"Hey Sakura, are you even paying attention?" Ino asked, waving a hand in front of her face. They'd made it through the matches, from Naruto and Hyuuga Neji's epic showdown to Shikamaru-kun's match, which might have been the slowest paced ninja battle she'd ever seen. It hadn't stopped Ino from nearly screaming her ear off during it though.

"Yes," Sakura said without moving.

_He should have been disqualified, _Inner-Sakura said in a rather quiet voice.

_Well, _Sakura remarked in familiar exasperation, _did you really expect him to lose to Naruto, even when it came to his entrance._

_ The cursed seal?_

_ I don't know, but if they couldn't seal it, I don't think he'd be here. _

"Hey." A voice greeted from behind them.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said, torn between happiness and frustration.

A/N: So, does this seem more plausible? I won't make any promises about updating, only to disappoint you later. I am a college student and finals are coming up, so there are about fifty pages of essays between me and summer. But I would like to thank everyone who supported Five Kingdoms, even though I'm a terribly unfaithful author. Review, if you would like, and tell me your opinions about the new version.

Breath of Stone (Earth): Technique that is based on strong defense. The user uses chakra in order to dissipate the force of a blow across the entire body, rather than allowing all the force to be kept at the impact site. This form emphasizes waiting for your enemy to attack first and waiting for them to expose their weaknesses rather than striking first.

Shifting Sands (Wind): Technique that emphasizes fluid, deadly movement. The user is required to have absolute control of their chakra, because each strike is only light, but chakra is released in specified patterns which can cause the target to dissolve or explode without ever breaking the skin touched. This form is low to the ground and utilizes the legs and a more open palm technique than other styles as well as being executed at superior speeds.

Silent Kill (Mist): Technique that strikes at fatal points in the body. Modified as a taijustsu form, but each blow is meant to be fatal. This style emphasizes silent movement, often used in conjunction with jutsu that blocks certain senses. This form is only used when the user is willing to kill an opponent rather than simply defeat them.

Closed Fist (Fire): Technique that uses chakra for super strength. Style and fluidity are abandoned for brute strength. Known for its unpredictability due to its chaotic forms, which emphasize doing as much damage as possible with regards to little else. The movements of this style are quick and jerky, and the approach is aggressive.

Crane Dance (Rain): Technique that uses a series of very formal approaches or 'dances'. The most remarkable feature of this taijutsu is the speed with which it is executed, because the style requires that the user strike at nerve centers in the opponent's body. This entails a very thorough knowledge of the human anatomy, similar to the Silent Kill technique.


	2. Chunnin Exams: Part Three REDUX

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except maybe the computer I wrote this on.

A/N: Because when I only replace the chapter it doesn't consider it updating, I'll briefly post these chapters as new chapters so you'll know when I've updated. That will also give people a chance to comment on the fresh chapters, though I've already taken down the first two chapters and replaced them with these new ones.

A/N: …I'm really liking this version better, personally. When I was reading through the other version, I was finding so many plot holes and saying to myself, "Well, this was obviously wishful thinking on my part." So I think I'll be replacing the chapters in the main story with the new ones, but I won't just delete them. I was really flattered with the reviews you left for the first chapter. I'll probably move the chapters I replace to a separate story. I'll update this page with the title when I create it.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Two-

The Chunnin Exams: Part Three

Kakashi had spotted his student's tell-tale pink hair immediately, sandwiched between the members of Asuma's team that hadn't made the final round. He'd expected an outburst, because he had disappeared with her precious "Sasuke-kun" without a word and Sakura was rather volatile when it came to the young Uchiha, but all he received was a quick, genuine smile as she turned back to the match. His visible eye blinked as he processed her reaction. _Okay, _he thought, _that's unusual. _

Strangely enough, his next realization was that she'd changed her shampoo. Not that he'd ever mentioned it to her, but he sometimes checked to see if Pakkun was around if he caught the scent before he saw his student. And Sakura, pretty, fashion-conscious Haruno Sakura, wasn't wearing her red dress, but was instead was wearing a uniform so stark and unisex it could have been regulation. If the state of her bangs was any indication, she hadn't even trimmed her hair since she'd cut it in her battle with Kin. _Well, that can't be good. _

_And neither is that, _he thought, noting how the eyes on Sasuke's match were not filled with the effusive combination of hero-worship and puppy love that used to turn his intelligent student into a gushing mess. _I see I'm missing something. _

"So, Sakura, did you have a good break in training?" he asked casually.

"Hmm? Sure," she replied, obviously paying him no attention. It was a good thing he couldn't see Inner-Sakura at that moment, because she was gesturing nastily at him and had screeched "_From you Kakashi-sensei, you useless bastard!"_

"So, what did I miss?" he asked, trying to draw her into conversation again.

"Naruto won his match," Sakura said as her eyes narrowed. "You really missed it. For somebody who can see anything, Neji-san looked pretty blindsided."

Silence followed her comment, then it was broken by the roar of the crowd around them. The Uchiha versus Gaara of the Desert had been the most anticipated match of the exams, after all.

"Well, Sakura," he said at last, "how would you rate Sasuke's chances?" He watched her carefully, looking for the signs of nervous worry she should be demonstrating while her favorite was facing down a ninja that had already proved he had no compunctions about bloodshed.

Her lips, which lacked the luster usually provided by her favorite gloss, turned down at the question. "Gaara will win," she pronounced.

That offended Ino, the other Sasuke-supporter in the group. "His chances can't be that bad. I mean, he's Sasuke-kun, so he has to win. Right? If he doesn't…" she shivered at the memory of what had happened to Rock Lee. "And Lee didn't have anything but his taijutsu. Sasuke-kun has his Sharingan."

"He only had a month," Sakura reminded them. "That's a big skill gap to overcome. It won't matter if he can see it coming if he can't move fast enough to avoid Gaara's sand."

_Who are you and what have you done with Sakura? _That was what he wanted to say. This was the side she usually displayed only on tests, her analytical mind, and it was something Kakashi had evidence of only in her transcripts. Usually she was too busy shooting glances at Sasuke to display the kind of potential Iruka had praised her for. "You've forgotten one thing," he said. "Sasuke has been training with me. I ignored all aspects of his training except for one thing—his speed."

As Sasuke demonstrated the fruits of their intense training, astonishing even Rock Lee and Gai, who appeared as the match started, Kakashi had a building sense of unease. And he never doubted his instincts. It wasn't the match taking place in the arena, as he told Naruto when he appeared shouting about stopping the battle, dragging Nara Shikamaru in his wake. But as he felt the tell-tale twinges of genjutsu he knew his unease had been justified.

Releasing the jutsu with ease, he was distracted by the smoke and dust as something happened on the balcony where the Kages had been seated. He saw an ANBU squad leap into motion, then he was brought back to his own battle as the glasses-wearing traitor that had escaped him earlier revealed himself.

"Kabuto."

"Kakashi," the silver haired Oto-nin said in mocking greeting.

All around them, more Sound ninja were leaving their civilian disguises, engaging the ninja who'd managed to avoid the genjutsu. Two leaped at Sakura, who'd apparently broken the genjutsu on her own, and he moved to engage but before he could reach her, she took action on her own.

Leaping onto her seat, she kicked off the seatback, spinning herself into a reverse roundhouse that he thought came too late, impacting only lightly with the back of the ninja's head. She'd gotten out of the way in time by virtue that her momentum had thrown her to one side and Kakashi used his speed to appear in from the Sound ninja, intent on preventing a second attack. However, ever as his kunai came to hand, the throat and lower jaw of the man in front of him _exploded_, a gory mess of blood, bone, and brain matter nearly spattering on his vest.

Sakura wasn't finished though, because even as she landed from the first attack she used a burst of speed he hadn't thought her capable of to appear in front of her other attacker, inside his guard. Without hesitation, she flowed into a rising two-fingered strike that took the nin's Adam's apple and made it touch his spine. Nothing exploded, but he died just the same.

_Human beings are fragile creatures, _she thought she remembered the Hokage saying. Her muscles quivering from the adrenaline, Sakura hoped frantically she wouldn't throw up. She'd seen what had happed to the first nin from the corner of her eye and she carefully avoided looking at the body. She'd "killed" Gai-sensei with Shifting Sands during their training, in the rare matches he'd let even touch him, but this was somebody who wouldn't be getting up again. And she'd done it.

She thought she'd gotten some brain matter on Ino's shirt. The blonde was going to have a fit when she woke up. Sakura tried to breathe inconspicuously through her mouth.

"Haruno Sakura. I must say that I am impressed." Biting her tongue, Sakura looked towards the familiar voice, noting the silver hair within the cowl and the distinctive round glasses. "My cards aren't often wrong. But I must say that they didn't include your little skill."

"Kabuto," she returned, surprising herself at how even her voice sounded, like she spent all day causing general destruction and mayhem.

Somewhere, in the dark of her inner world, she thought she heard Inner-Sakura whimpering.

"Sakura." Kakashi-sensei's familiar voice, which seemed touched with gentleness, drew her attention, but her eyes never left Kabuto. Gai-sensei could attack in less than the time it took her to blink and he hadn't been trying to kill her. Sakura doubted Kabuto would show the same restraint.

"Sasuke's chasing Gaara and the other Sand ninja. I need you to release the jutsu on Shikamaru and Naruto and go after them. It'll be the first A-rank mission since the Land of Waves."

Sakura nodded curtly, using her speed to appear at the top of the stairs before he could say anything about what she'd done. If Kakashi-sensei said something, she didn't know what she'd do, and now she couldn't afford that. That ninja had been the first person she'd ever killed. Ducking a thrown kunai, she crouched low over the crumpled bodies of her teammate and yearmate.

Her jade eyes narrowed as she looked at Shikamaru.

_Is he pretending? _Inner-Sakura howled. _Pound him good! Cha!_

Following her instructions by aiming a kick in his direction gave Sakura a second of grim satisfaction before she concentrated on breaking the genjutsu on Naruto.

_ It isn't even that high level of a jutsu, so of course Naruto-baka would be affected by it, _Inner-Sakura grumbled.

_You could dump a wall on him to less affect_, Sakura agreed. Only when things were outrageously powerful did Naruto shine—simpler challenges left him sleeping on cold concrete.

"What's happening?" he yelped as he shot up, only to be shoved down again as a kunai flew over his head.

"Sasuke's chasing Gaara. We're going to chase Sasuke." Sakura explained, trying to be concise.

"Huh? Sasuke's were?" Naruto said, obviously still muddled.

"You'll be following Pakkun here in order to track them," Kakashi-sensei announced as he appeared next to them, Gai-sensei smashing a Sound ninja through the wall with enough force that a circular crater that led outside appeared. A small brown dog with the cape and headband that was common to all Kakashi-sensei's summoned dogs appeared as the copy-nin completed his summoning jutsu.

"I'll warn you three ahead of time that I won't be doing any fighting," the small dog growled in a tone that was surprisingly deep.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his chest, where Sakura's kick had landed.

"Well, who was the one pretending to be under the genjutsu?" Sakura demanded, glaring at Shikamaru.

"Keep the fires of your youth burning high and you shall conquer any enemies that will appear before you!" Gai declared, striking his Nice Guy pose.

"You know your mission. Come back alive." Kakashi said with considerable less drama.

"Wait. What's going on again?" Naruto asked. With a low growl of frustration Sakura grabbed his collar and pulled him through the opening and she heard Shikamaru's protest as Pakkun made him follow.

Sakura explained their situation as well as she could as they jumped through the trees in pursuit of their objective. When she'd finished, she ignored her companions, calculating in her head how far they ahead of them Sasuke-kun and Gaara likely were. Taking into consideration Sasuke-kun's new speed and the advantage that should be offered him by the familiar terrain, she quickly negated both.

The invasion had clearly been planned. Well planned. The chances of such critical operatives not having studied the terrain and layout of the forests surrounding Konoha were nil. And Sasuke-kun was chasing what was effectively a team of three. Kankuro was rested, his chakra reserves untapped, his abilities largely unknown—Sasuke-kun was known of the above.

The chances were that the fleeing ninja would split up to delay him from reaching Gaara, who obviously still had some function in their plan.

Pakkun broke her train of thought as he announced that they had nine ninja following them.

_ And then there's that_, Inner-Sakura muttered. _Why can't we ever be the ones with overwhelming forces?_

Sakura halted, Naruto and Shikamaru flanking her on neighboring branches.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned hesitatingly.

She was running through scenarios in her head, but she couldn't see any way this would go well. They couldn't afford for all of them to stay and risk themselves in an ambush that had a good chance of failing. If none of them were jounin level and she was lucky, fast, and ruthless, she might manage four. Five if they were incredibly stupid. But all her new techniques were taijutsu, which meant close combat. Unless they split up they'd overwhelm her with sheer numbers in seconds.

Sakura glanced at her orange-clad companion. It was the same with Naruto. Taijutsu was his strongest ability too, though he'd have the advantage if it came down to a numbers situation. But they needed Naruto to get to Sasuke-kun more than they needed either her or Shikamaru. He was the only one whose chakra might hold out against Gaara's.

Which left Shikamaru. She turned to the Nara, knowing she was about to ask the impossible from the lazy ninja whose chakra was probably still depleted from his match with Temari.

As soon as he saw that her gaze was on him, he tilted his head and sighed. "Man, this is so troublesome."

"What?" Naruto demanded, oblivious to the undercurrents.

"Shikamaru has to stay," she told him

"What? Why can't we just ambush them?"

Sakura waited as patiently as she could while Shikamaru explained how the conditions for a successful ambush weren't met, but she could only stay at Shikamaru's pace for so long.

"He's the only one who has a chance," she said, cutting off Naruto's protests. "And while we're standing here, Sasuke-kun's getting further away and those Sound ninja are getting closer."

"She's right, Naruto," Shikamaru concurred, "we need to split up."

"Alright," Naruto said after a few moments of teeth-grinding deliberation. "But don't you dare die Shikamaru!" he shouted behind him as he left, already jumping through the trees.

Shooting one last glance at their comrade, Sakura followed, quickly catching up to Naruto.

_We could go faster than this is we were by ourselves, _Inner-Sakura complained as they reestablished their earlier pace.

_And do what when we get there? _Sakura demanded. _I might be vain, but you're arrogant. I don't have Sasuke-kun's speed or Naruto's chakra. I don't have _anything _that will get past that sand shield and you know it. I don't want to get that close. Taijutsu's all I've got, besides basic stuff, and I'm nowhere near Lee's level. _

_ When are we going to learn useful abilities? _Inner-Sakura wanted to know.

Sakura wished she knew.

While they were running, it seemed to take forever to get to Sasuke-kun, but when they reached him, it felt like the trip had been too short. Sasuke-kun's curse seal had spread and he was down, but it was Gaara who sent a chill up her spine. With a half-formed tanuki demon sprouting from his side, both his eyes gone dark and demonic, he made for a grotesque sight.

Using her speed, she appeared on the branch next to Sasuke, never taking her eyes from Gaara. "Are you alright Sasuke? Anything broken?" she demanded, eager to pull him away but not willing to risk it if Gaara had already managed to do internal damage.

"Sa..ku…ra?" he managed to force out.

_Is he blind or just stupid? _Sakura asked Inner-Sakura, who made a weak protest in favor of their Sasuke-kun by force of habit.

"What are—," his words were suddenly cut off as she grabbed the tall collar of his bodysuit, leaping out of the way.

_Damn he's heavy,_ Inner-Sakura huffed as they barely avoiding the crushing column of sand that had come from the Gaara-monster.

_No, it's that Gaara's just that fast, _Sakura hissed. She'd known it intellectually, seen it, but to experience it was a different matter. _Can't let him catch us. Need to hide, take my weights off. _

_ We're choking Sasuke-kun! _Inner-Sakura shrieked.

Sakura chanced a glance down, to find that the way she'd wound her fingers into the back of his collar had drawn it tight across his throat. _Shi—_she never finished her thought as the distraction cost her, a lash of sand catching her across the back, running horizontally across her shoulder blades. Her back arched, her fingers loosened convulsively, and through the haze of pain that her back had suddenly become she felt the fabric slipping through her fingers.

"Naruto!" she shouted, hoping, and then there he was, clones catching them both and darting off in opposite directions.

Safely out of Gaara's line of sight, he stopped, lowering her gently to her hands and knees on the branch. Bile rose in her throat and she vomited, hands fisting as she tried to bring her body under control.

She flinched as the Naruto clone gently touched her back. "It looks pretty bad, Sakura," he confided in a low, worried voice. "That Gaara bastard."

Sakura could imagine. It was why sandstorms were so feared—they could eat away your skin, your flesh, right off the bone. "How deep is it?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Not too deep, but it almost looks like a burn," he told her.

"Good, that's good," she said faintly, pressing her forehead, slick with clammy sweat, against the bark of the branch he'd landed them on. "That'll mean less bleeding."

As if from far away, she could hear what sounded like a hundred Naruto's shouting about some ninja handbook.

_I won't be beaten by this, _she growled inside her head.

"Sakura?" her Naruto clone questioned worriedly, kneeling beside her. Sakura realized she'd almost bitten through her lip.

Sakura raised her head slowly. _Pain is nothing! Pain is nothing! _She stood slowly. Her hands trembled, so she fisted them. Her knees shook, so she locked the joint. _I'm a shinobi of Konohagakure. I have a mission to complete. _

She looked over at Naruto, whose sky blue eyes were fixed on her with so much care in them. _I have teammates to protect._

_I'm not you, but I am you, _Inner-Sakura said slowly.

_What's that? _Sakura demanded irritably.

_I think I take away the pain_, Inner-Sakura volunteered suddenly. _I can hide it, but it will still be here. _

_Do it. _Sakura commanded.

_You won't be able to tell how much you're getting hurt, _Inner-Sakura cautioned.

"Just do it," Sakura growled aloud, earning a startled look from Naruto.

Her back went numb, like someone had delivered an anesthetic. Feeling slowly returned, but there was a strangely absent feeling inside her head as Inner-Sakura curled around the pain, hiding it away.

"Alright, Naruto, let's go."

"What?"

Sakura leapt from the branch and he followed automatically. She wasn't arrogant enough to bring them directly back into the battle, instead taking cover behind a tree close enough that she could survey the situation.

Sasuke had been well and truly taken out of the battle, collapsed to one side with Pakkun and what looked like a small frog. The Gaara-monster had only grown more grotesque, as now even his mouth looked deformed and she could see the sheen of saliva even from here. Naruto looked like kami-sama himself had descended and spoken to him and Sakura wondered what that was about. No one was even looking in her direction.

Sakura tapped softly the trunk of the tree she was hiding behind. It was maybe eight, nine feet in diameter. Thicker at the bottom of the trunk. Perfect. Grabbing Naruto, she leaped to the bottom. Shedding her weights, she stared hard at the tree.

"Now or never," she confided to Naruto. "Shannaro!"

She'd never felled one of the great trees that grew deep in the forest surrounding the village, but it came down like it had been waiting for her. Releasing her grip on Naruto, she sprinted up the falling truck and had a brief moment of satisfaction as she saw the Gaara-monster's face.

"Bet no one ever dropped a tree on you before, huh. Bastard," she muttered as he leaped out of the way, his sand shooting out like grappling hooks.

Her tree crashed solidly into the one he'd been standing in, snapping off thick branches, and she rode it until it stopped, the growth too dense to allow it to come crashing down to the ground.

"Sakura-chan, you're okay!" The original Naruto proclaimed.

"That's a matter of opinion," she retorted dryly. "But yeah, I'm okay."

"And what do you think you're doing, coming between me and my prey?" The Gaara-monster demanded in a voice as unpleasant as rocks grinding together.

"Coming between you and your prey," she shot back. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Maybe engaging the enraged sand-creature in witty dialogue wasn't the best option, but Sakura wasn't feeling pain. She'd tossed away fear. She was immortal.

With a roar, sand projectiles from Gaara's tail tried to prove her wrong, but she danced out of the way, just enough not-there that Gai-sensei would have been proud.

_Kill him, Sakura! _Inner-Sakura commanded, her voice tight with pain.

_I need to close the distance,_ Sakura thought, acknowledging their decision. Her eyes narrowed. _He'd hurt Sasuke-kun and he was trying to hurt Naruto. _

Almost without thinking her hand dipped into her kunai holster and she fanned the blades, taking only an instant to strike. She knew they wouldn't hit, but she did know that he would block, and in that instant where the enormous blue-veined tail of sand came between them she closed the gap, her hands running through the seals of a clone jutsu.

Two clones, just like in her Academy test, because she doesn't have the chakra to waste. What she doesn't expect is for the tail to absorb her kunai and spit them back at her, twice as fast and now super-heated. Sakura is certain she can dodge, but then something orange jumps in front of her and takes the hit before it even gets near here. It's the shadow clone that carried her to safety.

Landing, knowing she's being stupid, she yells at the real one without ever looking away from the creature that radiates such nauseating bloodlust. "Naruto, what do you think you're doing?"

"He was about to hurt you, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura clenched her jaw and told herself he meant well. _He really does. And he doesn't know how hard I've been trying. _

"Naruto!" she yelled, "Am I your teammate or am I not?"

"Of course you are!" he shouted back. "You and Sasuke-teme." His voice grew softer. "You're my precious people."

"If I'm your teammate, then let me do what I'm supposed to do. I'm not just some girl, Naruto. I'm not the client and I'm not a princess. I'm a _shinobi_," she snarled, her voice growing hard and intent on the last word. "So let me stand beside you, because I won't hide behind you anymore."

"But Sakura-chan," Naruto protested in a wavering voice, "you're standing in front of me."

Even though Inner-Sakura was probably in excruciating pain, Sakura could imagine her face-palming herself to spare Sakura the trouble of doing it. But she'd said her piece and it felt more freeing than she imagined. So a smile grew, spreading across her face. "So then watch my back," she called over her shoulder, leaping to the side as Gaara decided he'd had enough of their conversation and brought his tail down like a mace on the branch she'd been standing on, crushing it into splinters.

This time when she landed, she was facing him directly, not ten feet from him. _Stupid move for a ninja, _Inner-Sakura commented weakly, then retreated again, the consciousness curling more tightly in anticipation of further pain.

Sakura started to circulate chakra through her muscles again and dropped into the opening stance of Shifting Sands, hoping that Naruto recovered from his surprise in time to assist. She knew she wasn't good enough yet to be a one-man show.

Looking at Gaara, she felt that same hard blankness steal over her that had allowed her to so coldly end the Sound ninja's lives with only short-lived regret.

Something prompted an ugly chuckle from the monster. "I thought it seemed familiar, but it wasn't until I saw the look in your eyes that I recognized it. How unexpected, to meet a practitioner of Shifting Sands in Konoha."

His ugly, hate-filled eyes narrowed. "You're not like the other two. You won't rush me mindlessly. You're not playing around. Your eyes are cold—you have death in them when you're looking at me. But my hate is stronger than your will to kill."

_Why would anyone have that much hate? _Sakura felt the first tendrils of sympathy growing and ripped them out by the roots. "Only the weak need hate to kill. The strong need only opportunity."

A wide, sneering grin distorted his face further. "Then let's match my sand against yours. The one left alive is right."

His arm shot past here, leaving a gaping hole the size of Sakura in the trunk of the tree. Sakura was manipulating her chakra more effectively than she ever had before, augmenting her muscles for speed, so she was almost too fast to see as she dodged, then appeared before him. Her open pack struck only a light blow, as she remembered how Sasuke's Chidori had trapped his arm, but it was enough to make the sand limb explode in a shower of dust and grit.

If she had a plan, Gaara had the advantage of ability, because the particles danced in the air for a glittering moment, then reformed with the speed of a striking snake along her forearm. She half-screamed, because she could feel it burrowing into her arm, wanting to fill up her veins with sand and make them explode.

Acting on instinct, because he'd drawn her closer, like a fish on a hook, she struck out using Tsunade's style. It freed her, but not without cost, as knocking him back into a tree where he made a very satisfying crater ripped away the sand from her arm. Sakura choked back her scream. Loose sand made faint trails in the air as it poured from the holes in her arm, then blood began to well, leaving a gritty, thick mixture that felt like the inside of her veins was being scoured with sandpaper.

_He must have a lot of chakra in that sand, _she thought as she huffed, trying to catch her breath as she waited for Inner-Sakura to snatch away the pain. The chakra she was trying to direct into her arm kept doing strange things, which she knew meant he'd managed to shred her chakra coils along with her flesh.

Sakura took a long, slow breath and centered herself. She blocked out Naruto's yelling. _Just hurry up and do what you need to do. _The cool darkness of her inner-most mind spread as Inner-Sakura siphoned off the pain. _I can't win. But I'm not going to lose. What was it Suzuki-san was always saying? A ninja is always running just ahead of death. If he hesitates, he dies. I can't hesitate. _

She met Gaara's dark eyes, the sclera black with golden stars for irises. At her side, her bloodied hand clenched.

A/N: …Somehow, this got much longer. But now some of the later issues, like Inner-Sakura's actions, should begin to make more sense instead of coming out of nowhere.


	3. Screaming Sands REDUX

Disclaimer: If I owned this, I would have told you by now.

A/N: I'd been thinking about the series as I was writing this, and I came to a conclusion. Super strength, especially the way Tsunade and Sakura use it in the series, could not be less ninja-like. They brawl like street fighters, with no regard for the advantage of surprise and while it might seem cool to open craters in the earth, stealth would be impossible. And you'd really have me believe that a _ninja _with that much medical knowledge wouldn't be an assassination specialist? Yet another indicator that there aren't really any heroines in Naruto, simply female characters to provide diversity as the male characters, especially Naruto and Sasuke, gain god-like powers. Rant finished. My apologies to everyone.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Three-

Screaming Sands

From memory Sakura could give the median measurements to every vital organ in the human body. Vertebrae by vertebrae, she knew which bodily functions would be arrested if she slid a kunai between them. Which was all well and good, except that with each passing second Gaara was losing any semblance of human form.

Sakura was primarily a thinking ninja, a paper ninja, and she had no delusions about that. If she had her options, she'd have chosen to set a trap, something with lots of explosives for her own personal satisfaction and lured Gaara into it. A scenario where she controlled the conditions, because head-on combat had never been her strength.

But none of that mattered. "Hey, Naruto," she called, "whatever jutsu you're trying to do, go for it. I know you can do it." Because this was serious, life-or-death, and Naruto never failed when it came to that.

"Sakura," he said, surprise in a voice warm with appreciation. _I never did tell you when you did things right. I only yelled when things went wrong. Sorry, Naruto. _

"You two make me sick," the Gaara-creature hissed.

_So does your face, _Sakura thought, but didn't say it out loud, because it seemed beneath her ninja dignity. But taunting wasn't. "What are you waiting for, Gaara? Don't want to play with a girl?"

It was apparently the wrong thing to say, because the-thing-that-was-Gaara roared and its tail split into four twisting pillars that rushed her from all sides. Closing her eyes, because she didn't want to risk getting disoriented, she pulled the fastest evasion she'd ever done, bringing herself deep inside Gaara's guard. Jade eyes flicked open even as the sand pillars crashed together, spilling a wave of sand down onto the ground below.

_Surprise is the ninja's strongest weapon, Kakashi-sensei always said, though he never managed to stomp that concept into Naruto's head. Well, Kakashi-sensei, I've lost surprise. Let's try taijutsu._ She'd already revealed her two main offensive styles, but none of the others were suitable for the situation. She'd just have to be faster, quicker, more sure in her strikes. 

A high, rising kick to the monster's throat put him into the air, Tsunade-style, because Shifting Sands was more dangerous to her than to Gaara. The chakra layer was too heavy, too oppressive, and just too alien for her to use her own chakra resonance against him effectively without study, or at least that was what she theorized.

_This would be easier if I had more than a month of training at this, _she decided, gritting her teeth as one of the blows she didn't quite escape set her ears to ringing.

They fought in what might be kindly called a stalemate for a few minutes, except Sakura was painfully aware that Gaara could end it in one good hit. Blocking as a hard arm of sand swept into her right side, she dipped her left hand into her kunai holster, coming up with three that had explosive tags attached. Flicking them hard into where the thing's throat was supposed to be, she let herself be swept off the limb with the force of the hit.

"Bang," she hissed in satisfaction as she swiftly made a focusing sign to detonate. A roar of pain and an explosion of sand told her she been successful. Flipping in midair, she recovered, leaping back up to where she'd stymied Gaara, whose sand was slowly reforming. Flickering through the air so quickly a civilian wouldn't have been able to see her, she brought herself well within Gaara's guard, then before she could think it over, a double palm strike that sent him hurtling through the trees on a collision course with the ground below.

Her strong legs propelled her from the branch, then she was following Gaara's path, elbows tucked into her sides to cut down on her wind resistance, like a falcon diving after prey. For a moment it was a glorious, empowering sensation of predatory dominance. And then, rising up from below like some monstrous hand, a tidal wave of sand that swallowed her whole.

Inner-Sakura screamed.

_The sky is white_, Sakura thought hazily, her pink-lashed lids almost falling closed as she drifted aimlessly in a world almost free of pain. It seemed to take a long time for thoughts to form, but by the sharp smell of antiseptic and the soft noises of the machines, she guessed she was in the hospital.

Someone's soft footsteps, like they were wearing soft-soled shoes, were nearby. As she hears them cross the room, she realizes it is someone unfamiliar. Kakashi-sensei's footsteps were very soft, even when he wasn't trying to be stealthy, his strides longer. There was usually a peculiar hesitation and energy in Naruto's steps, especially when he was indoors, like he was holding himself back from just bounding forward in life. She'd never tell him this, but Sasuke-kun had the loudest footsteps, hard and direct, like the ground had done something to offend him. Forcing her eyes open, Sakura sat up slowly, evaluating the feel of her body. She raised a hand to her ribs and grimaced. It felt like someone had brought down ten tons of sand on her.

_ Oh, wait, they had. _

"Where are my teammates?" she asked, startling the nurse.

"You shouldn't be up yet!" the nurse scolded, bustling over and encouraging her to lie back down.

"Where are my teammates?" Sakura repeated patiently. "Are Naruto and Sasuke alright?" Something told her that she should be more worried, but she was in a drug-induced state of calm and all her concerns seemed to hover far away.

"They're certainly in better shape than you are," the nurse, who had brown hair cut in a bob and the clearest grey eyes Sakura had ever seen, said as she gently her patient back into the bed. "Uzumaki-kun was only exhausted, and Uchiha-kun escaped with only minor injuries and a case of severe chakra exhaustion. Uzumaki-kun was discharged after we looked him over. Uchiha-kun should still be on bed-rest."

"How long have I been here?" Sakura asked, noticing a slight waterstain on one of the ceiling tiles in the corner.

"Three days, Haruno-chan." She then proceeded to rattle off Sakura's injuries, from the deep abrasions caused by Gaara's sand to the four broken ribs she'd apparently sustained in the last attack. And all her skin was pink, shiny, and raw like it'd been sandblasted.

"Three days...," Sakura mused. It was the longest she'd ever been in the hospital. After all, one hardly needed emergency attention for papercuts, which was the closest she usually came to danger. Even during the elimination round after the second part of the chunnin exam, she hadn't needed the attention of the medic's standing by.

She realized the nurse was speaking again and languidly turned her attention to her. "The damage to the chakra network in your left hand and forearm was extensive. We weren't certain it could be salvaged, but you began to heal almost as soon as we examined you. Your unconscious control of chakra is extraordinary, but your pain tolerance is even more impressive. Usually the danger of re-burning chakra channels is high enough that the shock has a 58% chance of sending you into a coma."

She kept talking as she busied herself doing things now that Sakura was awake, but Sakura had ceased to pay attention. _Inner?_ She probed, waiting for a response. Sakura wasn't certain what to do if she didn't answer—she'd never had to look for her other personality before, as she'd always been simply _there_.

_Inner?_

_ That hurt like hell, I hope you know, _Inner-Sakura grumbled, her voice a little rougher than usual. Like she'd been screaming.

_You're wonderful, you know that?_

_ I know. _

Sakura laughed out loud, which turned out to be a not so great idea because even the pain medication couldn't completely disguise the pain from her broken ribs at the sudden movement.

But the pain did manage to clear some of the haze, so she asked, "When can I leave?"

"Hmm?" the nurse asked distractedly, writing something on Sakura's chart. "You'll have to ask the doctor in charge of your case, but I wouldn't think it would be for a while."

Her back was turned, so she didn't see the way Sakura's gaze darkened, her eyes narrowing. _Just when I could see Naruto and Sasuke-kun again? I don't think so. We're a team again now. This time, we'll do it better. _

_ Yeah! Support is one thing, but if we can take out the bastard before they even touch them, they won't need support! _

At her side, her undamaged hand clenched. _That snake bastard won't ever touch Sasuke-kun again. Not ever. _

_ Will we ever be able to call him Sasuke-kun out loud again? _Inner-Sakura asked, sadly and fondly.

_No. It's not…I'm not that person. I can't be that Sakura. _She didn't have to explain why to Inner-Sakura. That was the beauty of having a split-personality, these moments of perfect understanding between them. It wasn't really that what she'd felt toward Sasuke-kun had changed, but it could be set aside. His trust in her as a teammate was more important.

And that old Sakura had been monstrously unkind to Naruto, who'd never done anything worse to her than like her. Sakura didn't think she could ever return his feelings, but she could offer to him what she'd been unable to before—a teammate, who could both watch his back and defend his front.

The nurse with the grey eyes was speaking again. "I'll be back in half an hour to check on you. Please try to rest until then."

Sakura lay still, watching her out of the corner of her eye until she closed the door behind her.

"Like hell," she muttered, gingerly sitting up and taking stock of her position. Step one was to find her clothes and get out of the hospital gown. _Which meant they gave up my outfit as trashed if they cut it off. _Luckily, someone had brought clothes similar to the training ensemble she usually wore, except the shorts were a looser cargo cut in beige and the top was sleeveless and hooded. Her mother or father, probably. She couldn't find any shoes except flimsy hospital slippers, but Sakura supposed her feet were calloused enough she could go barefoot.

_You don't suppose someone went and saved our weights, do you? _Inner-Sakura asked as Sakura roughly finger-combed her hair, which had a three day accumulation of oil and felt kind of nasty.

There was a stand beneath the window and she took a moment to appreciate the flowers on it before she made her escape. None from Team Seven, which wasn't really all that surprising. The flower from Lee-san wasn't unexpected either. Sakura sighed, thinking she really needed to find a way to convince Lee-san she was sincere about not returning his affections. It was the small bunch of dandelions that really drew her notice, and the note that lay beside them. _Have the soul of a weed Sakura-chan! Bloom and flourish! Your youthful Gai-sensei. _

_ Well, I suppose that's flattering, _Sakura thought to herself at last.

_Better than Kakashi-sensei at any rate, _Inner-Sakura agreed. _Don't we kind of like that idea? The 'soul of a weed.' Cha! _

Sakura was about to leave, but then she hesitated and rummaged in the drawers until she found paper and a pen. She left a note to the nurse on her pillow, thanking her for the care she'd received, before she leaped onto the stand and through the window.

The promised half hour later the nurse with grey eyes, whose name was Nozomi, was returning on her rounds and leading three visitors who'd been inquiring about the young pink-haired ninja at the desk. She snuck a covert glance at them from the corner of her eye, silently wondering about the team. Most teams she'd seen stroll through the hospital, even if they seemed dissimilar, usually had an underlying ability to move, think, and react in concert. This team had none of that.

But it was cute, the way Uzumaki-san was clutching a bunch of freshly picked, slightly squashed daisies for his female teammate. Hatake Kakashi-san, the regular terror of the ward nurses and a legend for his disappearing acts, was reading a novel whose bright orange cover gave away its contents. Uchiha-san looked like he'd been forced into accompanying them. Nozomi felt an unexpected pang of sympathy for the kunoichi. "She's right inside here," Nozomi announced, opening the door to Haruno-san's room.

Uzumaki-san burst past her, leaping eagerly into the room, calling out, "Sakura-chan!" Peering into the room after him, she was surprising to see the bed empty, the sheets crumpled near the bottom. At the window, the sheer curtains were blowing in the breeze. Nozomi had been certain that the window had been closed when she left.

"Huh, where's Sakura-chan?" the blonde exclaimed loudly.

Hatake-san strode past her into the room, where a picked up a note from the pillow. After reading it, he handed it to Nozomi. Her lips pursed as she scanned the lines. _This is the problem with shinobi. They all live like they're immortal. _

She looked up to realize the silver-haired jounin was chuckling. "Well, it looks like Sakura might not be so hopeless after all. She's already made her escape."

"She shouldn't even be moving," Nozomi said in the hard, wintry voice that was often the only way to get the ninja in the hospital to _listen_. "Four of her ribs were broken, and there's a chance she could aggravate that with movement. Worst-case scenario, they pierce a lung." She put a hand on her hip. "None of her other injuries run the risk of being fatal, but they certainly won't heal as quickly if she continues to use the muscle groups."

The older ninja sighed. Shutting his book but not putting it away, he gave orders to his team. "Alright. Well, Sasuke, Naruto, it looks like we'll have to find Sakura. Meet at the training grounds in an hour." Nozomi wanted to smack him upside the head with her clipboard when his tone of voice fairly screamed _how tedious. _

"I'll find her, believe it!" Uzumaki-san shouted as he disappeared out the window in a shower of daisies. Hatake-san only sighed again before following his student out the window.

Uchiha-san scowled. "How annoying," he muttered, turning his back on the window and leaving through the door.

_Ninjas, _Nozomi thought, shaking her head.

_This seemed like a much better idea at the time, _Sakura thought. She'd made it to the curved red bridge that Team Seven had claimed as their own before gently lowering herself into a seated position, her legs dangling over the side. She let her wide forehead rest against the railing with a soft _thunk_. Whether it was the medication or the pain, she felt nauseous.

Inner-Sakura was coping with their discomfort by muttering unflattering things about Gaara's lineage. _Fricken sand-worm, needs boiled and put on a bamboo skewer…_ Inner-Sakura growled.

When she showed no sign of stopping for conversation, Sakura tuned her out. As long as she didn't move or breathe too deeply the pain was bearable. Her jade eyes drifted to her left hand, which was swathed in bandages up to her elbow. Cautiously she moved her fingers, and when they responded without too much pain, she clenched them into a fist. She grimaced as the first crimson splotches began to soak through the gauze. The pain was still bearable though, so she was satisfied.

She let her eyelids slide closed, enjoying the cool breeze off the water against her flushed skin. "Did you need something, Sasuke?" she asked.

"Hn," he made his usual noncommittal noise, but Sakura though there was a touch of surprise in it. _Why should he be surprised? I all but stalked him for years. Does he think I couldn't sense him? _

_Yes, _Inner-Sakura said, briefly distracted from her diatribe. _I bet he doesn't even know his scent gets heavier when he's been practicing with katon jutsus. _

"Well, if that's all…," Sakura trailed off, making her implication clear. When she'd left the hospital, she'd wanted nothing more than to see her team again. But to see them like this, when she'd once again be left on the sidelines to observe, that wasn't something she wanted. Because then she'd be old Sakura again and all her work would be for nothing.

She was embarrassed to feel tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, so she blinked rapidly.

"Kakashi-sensei sent us to find you," Sasuke said.

_Congratulations, you've found me,_ was on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it down. Pain and disappointment didn't give her a right to take it out on Sasuke. "Oh, okay," was what she said instead. Standing up from the position she'd put herself in was an awkward, careful process, but Sasuke just watched.

"Where are your shoes?" he asked once she'd managed to extricate herself, his dark eyes on her bare feet.

Sakura shrugged. "I couldn't find them at the hospital."

There was silence between them for a moment. "Would you like me to carry you?" he asked levelly.

Somewhere inside, Inner-Sakura died. _Why couldn't you have ever asked me that before? _she howled, though they were both aware she'd never gotten hurt badly enough to need carrying.

"No," Sakura said, gentling her reply with a smile. "It would probably hurt worse than walking barefoot."

Sasuke made another of his noncommittal noises. "We were meeting at the training grounds."

"Not too far then," Sakura said with constrained brightness. Real brightness would _hurt._

Sasuke kept pace with her as they headed to their habitual training grounds. Sakura silently praised kami-sama for the thick, lush grass that made a pleasant change from the rougher dirt paths. The other two members of their team were waiting and Naruto instantly perked up as he saw her coming. She offered him a smile, one that he returned three-fold.

He was about to shout out a greeting, but Kakashi-sensei thumped him over the head with his _Icha Icha _volume. Sakura felt her muscles automatically tense as her sensei turned his eyes to her.

_What do you want? _Inner-Sakura demanded.

Sakura stayed silent as Kakashi-sensei gave her that crinkle-eyed grin that promised nothing. "And here I thought the only girl of the team would actually have enough sense to stay in the hospital. Especially when she can barely move. But I guess this isn't the first time I've been proven wrong."

_I'll show you barely move! _Inner-Sakura challenged.  
"Maybe the _only girl _on the team was taking cues from her teammates. Right, sensei?" Sakura said, pitching her voice pleasantly.

Kakashi-sensei was briefly stunned into silence, but that only gave Naruto an opening. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" he asked worriedly, leaping forward and hovering.

Looking at him with new, fond eyes, Sakura smiled softly. Naruto truly, deeply cared and took every opportunity to show it. "Right as rain, Naruto," she teased. "So tell me, how did you beat Gaara?"

That was all the encouragement he needed to set him into a running monologue, completely acted out, as he covered the fight from beginning to end. Sakura only needed to nod encouragement and try not to laugh. Only Naruto would gain the ability to summon a giant samurai-frog. It was only as he was coming to his epic finish that she became aware that Kakashi-sensei was still looking on at her disapprovingly.

He took his opportunity to speak as soon as Naruto took a breath, preparing to tell Sakura just how cool she had been in the fight. "You should be in the hospital."

Sakura bit down on her bottom lip. Finally, she tilted her head down, allowing her bangs to shadow her face. "I'm fine."

"Really?" Closing his book, he reappeared by her side. "So those bandages are only for show then?"

"I'll just observe training, Kakashi-sensei. I won't get in the way," Sakura promised.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "Sakura, go back to the hospital," he ordered.

"No," she said softly, but her voice was cool and smooth.

Kakashi-sensei raised a brow at her refusal.

"I'm not going to go back to the hospital, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura repeated. "You didn't make Sasuke stay. It's unfair to make me go back just because I'm the only girl."

"It's not because you're the only girl, Sakura," Kakashi told her, bringing a hand to his face to rub his forehead. "Sasuke was only exhausted, not injured. Total rest will let you heal faster. If you keep moving, it will only take your body longer to recover. And since we can't go on missions with just three members, don't you think it's in the best interest of the team that you return?"

Behind the veil of her bangs, Sakura's eyes narrowed. He'd hit her with her obligation to her team. Obviously she didn't want to hold them back. But neither would she be satisfied with being left behind. They'd probably keep her in the hospital for at least four more days before they released her, just to be certain she didn't have any internal damage they hadn't been able to detect when she was brought in.

_That's unfair Kakashi-sensei, _she accused silently.

"Kakashi-sensei, I won't get in the way," she repeated.

"Sakura…," she could tell he was looking for some excuse to get her to go. At last he flipped his book back open and she felt hope surge. "Sasuke, attack Sakura."

"What?" Naruto roared, and even Sasuke shot him an incredulous glance.

"From her left, if you would," he commanded, never looking up from his pages.

"Kakashi-sensei—," Naruto protested, but Kakashi-sensei cut him off.

"Don't interfere, Naruto. This is a lesson for her own good."

_It'll be the first real lesson you've ever taught us, Kakashi-sensei, _Inner-Sakura growled. _But don't think we're going to let you. _

Quietly, Sakura let all the tension fall of muscles that had been slowing clenching. If she didn't stay relaxed, it would hurt, and pain would dull her reaction time.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke started and Sakura was surprised that he would protest, but then Kakashi-sensei gave him a look with his visible eye. She'd been training with Gai-sensei for a month. When you trained with a jounin who could attack before you could think, the tell-tale tensing of his shoulders, in his calves as he prepared to leap at her, the slight narrowing of his dark eyes all were as easily read as characters in a scroll.

_He'll come slow. He won't want to hurt me. _

_ You don't want to hurt him, either, _Inner-Sakura added.

_I can't use Shifting Sands, for obvious reasons. Tsunade's style is too loose in the upper body to use with broken ribs. Crane Dance is the only one with a stiff enough form to have a chance. _

Her damaged left hand was on the side near Kakashi-sensei, out of Sasuke's line of sight. She curled it into the distinctive two-fingered form that she fully intended to use against him. Sasuke came at her just as she predicted, his speed even more impressive than ever, but Sakura was already in motion, catching his fist with her right hand, moving her right foot on top of his to pin him in place.

_Sorry, Sasuke, _she apologized with her eyes.

A/N: So, eventually we're going to come to the part where the supernatural comes in. I've gotten mixed responses about this. My intention was to stay fairly close to the original story-line, and I'd like to know what you thought about the demons, especially if I can make Amanozako's introduction more plausible. For example, not even a demon at all, but a fractured personality or genjutsu or some-such?

And, just for the record, I love Kakashi, but he was so incredibly dense when he was training his team. Awesome ninja yes, good teacher no.


	4. The Red Moon Falls REDUX

Disclaimer: One day I'm going to surprise to you all and tell you I own Naruto, but today is not that day and tomorrow's not looking good either.

A/N: Another question inspired by the cannon. Sakura is commonly identified as a genjutsu-type shinobi. Does she ever learn any genjutsu? Well, at any rate, I've realized that this Sakura is a really different character than the Sakura of the original, but this one is more in-canon. But maybe, once I get to new chapters, instead of just rewriting the old ones, I could do the new chapters in both styles. It would be a challenge to my writing, but we'll see what happens.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Four-

The Red Moon Falls

There were a lot of pressure points and nerve clusters in the human body. Sakura was familiar with many of them. And she didn't want to hurt Sasuke, _per se_, but she did want to prove herself, desperately, violently. The chakra pours automatically through her channels, as natural to her as breathing, but it feels as cold and sharp as if it were hundreds of thousands of tiny blades flowing through her left hand.

Her jade eyes narrow in an unconsciously intent expression, which in turn makes Sasuke's dark eyes widen. He struggles to pull his hand out of her grasp, but she automatically cycled chakra through the muscles of her right hand, which makes her far, far stronger than him. Sasuke's intention is all directed at freeing himself from her grip, which means he doesn't see her other hand as she pulls him forward, collapsing them together, intent on the pressure point on the back of his neck.

She was quick, but slow too, because the medication hadn't quite worn off. But Sakura knows it doesn't matter how fast she is, because Kakashi-sensei intercepted her strike, moved her body so quickly she is on her knees with her hand twisted gently behind her back, that it takes a moment to realize what happened. And what she'd almost done.

"Gently, gently," Kakashi-sensei chided her, letting her arm go. Sakura stays on the ground, on her knees. "Your control isn't as good as it usually is." Sakura knows. She was channeling too much chakra for that strike, which hadn't really needed chakra at all. All it would have taken was for Sasuke to struggle at the wrong moment and Sakura might have done more than simply knock him unconscious. She could have damaged his vertebrae at the least, maybe killed him at the worst.

_You've made your point, Kakashi-sensei, _she thought with her head bowed.

"Sorry," she mutters aloud. She peers at Sasuke through her bangs, just to reassure herself that her strike hadn't connected. Kakashi-sensei had apparently knocked him backward when he put her into the submission hold, because he was sitting in the dirt, looking as startled as he could manage without completely losing his dignity.

"That was so cool, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered from the sidelines. "What was that?"

Sakura swallowed down what had almost happened. It was done. Nothing could change it. "It was taijutsu," she answered him.

Sasuke had gotten over his surprise and was glaring up at Kakashi-sensei. "Why did you interfere?" he asked. "I thought you wanted me to attack her."

"The problem, Sasuke, lay in her counterattack. I assume you like being a ninja?" he asked in his normal, lackadaisical voice.

Sasuke eyes their sensei uncertainly, but gave him a short nod.

Kakashi-sensei's eyes crinkled shut, like he was smiling underneath his mask. "Then you didn't want Sakura to touch you just then. Right, Sakura?"

"Yes. I'll go back to the hospital," Sakura said in a soft voice.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto inquired worriedly.

She sent him a reassuring smile. "It's fine, Naruto." Sakura slumped the rest of the way to the ground. "I was just getting tired anyway."

Sakura stayed in the hospital for the next several days. Technically. The records would always reflect that the young pink-haired gennin was checked in, but Sakura spent most of her days as occupied as she might be at home. She'd slunk out once between the nurse's rounds, but Suzuki-san had refused to let her borrow books or scrolls from the archives. He'd said it was against policy, but Sakura had never heard of such a rule.

She didn't have enough time between the check-ins to simply stay and read, so she'd asked the box of scrolls that sat at the bottom of her bed be brought in. Chichi-ue had dropped them off, which Sakura took to mean she and Oka-san weren't talking again. Haruno Toshihiko, her father, never spoke often so Sakura didn't feel too slighted when he went away after exchanging only the barest of greetings. What she felt was lonely.

Sakura took after her father in looks, but not in personality. Chichi-ue was taller than Kakashi-sensei and while not outrageously broad across the shoulders, he had more muscle there than most of the ninja she'd seen. He the same broad forehead, though it looked better on him as it was matched with more masculine features. Sakura had yet to discover where her hair color came from. Oka-san's hair was dark, almost black, and though her chichi-ue died his hair, Sakura had seen that his roots were almost the same color as her eyes. It made sense in a skewed sort of way, because chichi-ue's pupils were about the same color as her hair, but Sakura doubted anyone had ever made fun of him because of it.

Though Ino also looked like her father, she at least had the advantage of looking attractive because of it.

But Sakura didn't linger long in self-pity. Instead she'd turned to two pursuits that made her time in the hospital bearable, if not entertaining. One was of course reading, memorizing, and restoring the scrolls, though she'd cried the first time she'd opened one. There was no rush to return them now. The Third Hokage was dead.

The second was meditation, which she'd always found a pointless exercise because of Inner-Sakura. It was hard to have quiet inside your head with a split personality. But she used it as an exercise to stretch her senses, listening to the nurses in the next room, memorizing chakra patterns until she could pinpoint all the nurses she knew in the hospital no matter what floor they were on.

That brought her to the present. A fresh set of funeral robes was waiting, neatly folded, on the bed, but Sakura was sitting on the floor, leafing through the scrolls from the box. She'd already discovered some treasures among the otherwise mundane techniques. There had been a beautifully illustrated copy of the legend of Amanozako rolled inside a treatise on the use of the air element in a justsu meant to decrease wind resistance when traveling at high speeds.

Amanozako, whose name meant 'heaven opposing everything,' was a goddess born when Susanoo's furious spirit had built up inside him and he'd vomited her out. Despite the talent of whoever had painted it, Sakura still though the goddess was grotesque, with her fangs that could chew through steel, beastly face, and great dark wings. She'd pulled the scroll and sat on the stand near the window, the ends weighted. It had been furled too tightly and she was waiting for the delicate paper to flatten so she could roll it properly.

Sakura reached into the box again and her hand encountered not a scroll or a loosely bound text, but instead a scroll case. Pulling it out, Sakura noticed something peculiar about it. It was larger than any of the other scroll cases she'd seen and one of the corners appeared to be _peeling. _Curious, because it hadn't looked like it'd been covered in paper, she picked at it with her blunt nails.

A small cry of triumph escaped her as she managed to separate the layer from the box. _What in the world? _Someone had paneled the exterior of the scroll box with thin strips of wood. From the loosened side, Sakura could tell there were paper seals on the box, which had previously been hidden. Her natural curiosity was roused and checking the time, she busied herself with removing the rest of the wooden strips.

It wasn't unusual for scroll boxes or even the scrolls themselves to have seals on them. Anything containing A-rank information or higher was supposed to have a seal on it by order of the Hokage, which had been in effect since the creation of the village and the first ninja wars, where theft of information was a common occurrence that could change the flow of a battle for better or worse. Ninja clans often created distinctive sealing techniques to contain information about their family jutsu. And because shinobi were just generally paranoid, sometimes they just sealed things for good measure. Like diaries. Ino had always kept her diary sealed.

_Those are some hardcore seals_, Inner-Sakura observed. _Nothing we can't handle, though. _

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Look at how these seals intersect," she indicated the overlap, barely aware she was speaking aloud. "You'd have to break them both at once. And because of the way the symbols amplify each other, it will be different than breaking them separately."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. _This box was sealed and confiscated during the reign of the First Hokage. Should I really be trying to open it? _

_Technically, _Inner-Sakura pointed out, _we have authorization from Hokage-sama to break the seal of any scroll in this box. _

_ Yeah, but I don't think he meant that permission for a situation like this. _Sakura sighed, glancing up at the clock again. At any rate, she didn't have time. She needed to get dressed. She'd agreed to meet with Naruto and Sasuke, so they could attend the Hokage's memorial service together. Irritably, Sakura swiped at the tears that started to gather again. She took a deep slow breath, bringing herself to that quiet place between her and Inner-Sakura. She wouldn't cry.

Sakura wasn't sure how to say it, but she'd never felt more in step with her team than when they'd met in that alley, all dressed in funeral black. No one had spoken. No one had needed to.

She'd been discharged the day after the Hokage's funeral. Her Oka-san had said her first words to her in days, though it had been a demand to help with the housework. Sakura knew her mother didn't understand her only child, so Sakura loved her despite that.

Sometimes, when Sakura was training, she'd wondered what had inspired her to be a ninja in the first place. Her family, as far back as the records traced was a successful clan of merchants, traders, civilians. She had only dim memories of her first motivation. Sakura knew why she was a ninja now—she loved her village, would complete any mission in its service in order to keep the ones she loved safe.

But there was no direct threat to Konoha. There hadn't been in years. She understood the motivation of someone like Tenten, who was the only other successful ninja in their age group to come from a civilian family. In her case, her parents had been caught up in the Kyuubi's last attack on the village, leaving her an orphan without any other way to support herself. Given that they were a hidden village whose main resource and source of income was its ninja forces, those children who went unadopted by civilian families were trained as shinobi and kunoichi.  
Sakura was fairly certain things had been a little different for Tenten, as after she'd shown considerable promise at the Academy, one of the lesser clans had taken her in. She'd heard by way of Lee, who by virtue of them both being in the hospital had spent a lot of time visiting, that Tenten's dream was to become a famous kunoichi like Tsunade.

Sakura admired the other girl for have such a solid goal right from the start, but Sakura was beginning to think of higher goals. She wouldn't be a famous _kunoichi._ Sakura would be measured by the same standard as her male teammates—she'd become an excellent _shinobi. _Like the Third Hokage, who'd been so kind to her during his brief mentorship.

Sakura shook off her thoughts as she walked the streets of Konoha, hoping to find Kakashi-sensei. He hadn't set a date for training today, but she'd seen the messenger hawk summoning Sasuke.

_We'll give him fifteen more minutes of wandering, then we're going to go back to the archives for research on that frickin' seal, _Inner-Sakura growled, already frustrated with the exercise.

Sakura bit her lip. She'd been running faithfully through her katas, even when she'd been in the hospital, but live combat was the only way to really practice. Even if she'd known Naruto's Kage Bunshin technique, only really experienced practitioners gained real insight into their technique by fighting themselves. Until she was more confident in her taijutsu, she wanted to fight against someone else, someone she'd be forced to not only pit her body but her mind against, someone who thought very differently from her. Any of her teammates would do, really.

But she hadn't even seen Naruto and kami-sama knew he was easy to spot, with his loud orange jumpsuit and distinctive voice.

After the promised fifteen minutes Sakura still hadn't spotted any of her teammates, though she'd waved hello to Shikamaru, who had seemed to be in the process of being herded somewhere by his mother.

_It's too nice a day to go straight to the archives, _she decided. She'd been studying during her time in the hospital and she missed the fresh air, so she didn't feel too guilty about her decision.

_Let's go down by the river, _Inner-Sakura suggested. _Where we first asked Gai-sensei to train us. We can call it an anniversary. It'll be nostalgic, _she coaxed.

_Mm, _Sakura agreed. She liked to sit on the banks, looking down into the water. The river wasn't constant. It was impossible to dip her feet into the same water twice. It reminded her that human beings had the same capacity for change and the Sakura she saw reflected today didn't have to be the Sakura that was reflected tomorrow. That Sakura could be a better person, a stronger shinobi. That was the Sakura of endless possibility.

When she actually came to the river though, she found she didn't feel like sitting passively on the bank. Stretching carefully, her hands high above her head, Sakura felt liberated and slightly guilty. While she'd been in the hospital everyone had been helping with the reconstruction efforts if they weren't training. There was no rule that said she had to spent every waking moment in study or training, no proctor or sensei to look over her shoulder, but it was what she'd become accustomed to. It was what she enjoyed, to be quite frank, but rest was as important as training. Or that was what she thought her chichi-ue had meant this morning when he'd seen her out the door, telling her that "silence was as important as sound."

She followed the river downstream and for the first time since she'd begun training, she looked around with something more than simply an awareness of her surroundings. The songbirds, Japanese white-eyes, bull-headed shrikes, Eurasian tree sparrows, and other more uncommon birds, were pretty, their calls musical, not simply an indicator that there'd been no enemy disturbing their nest. A tension that kept her chest tight, that she hadn't even realized was there, relaxed.

_Konoha is beautiful, _Sakura said to herself, suddenly reminded what is was that she fought to protect.

Suddenly their song was cut short as ahead of her a flock of birds rose from the trees. Just as quickly as it had left, the tension returned. Taking to the trees and the shadows, Sakura cautiously approached the area. Her trained ears soon picked up the voices of the two jounin that mentored the other successful candidates of the Rookie 9, Asuma-sensei who was in charge of Team 10, and the female jounin with the red eyes who was assigned to Team 8.

She couldn't hear what they were saying though, so she crept closer, finally finding a tree with heavy enough leaf cover it would be unlikely she'd be seen. Careful to keep the branch she was balanced on still, because she was on the narrowest part, Sakura cautiously parted the leaves in time with a natural breeze. Cloaking her chakra and focusing on erasing her breathe, Sakura was almost certain that even a jounin level shinobi wouldn't be able to detect her.

Her jade eyes narrowed as she took in the situation. They were facing two men in black cloaks covered with red clouds and their stance was antagonistic.

_Intruders to the village? _Inner-Sakura asked.

_Looks like it, _Sakura answered her.

She'd arrived after Asuma-sensei had challenged the shinobi, so she watched with trepidation as the slighter of the two foreign nin brought a purple-nailed hand to his bamboo hat. Removing it slowly, he unsnapped the first few closures of his cloak with his left hand. Sakura nearly fell from her perch when Asuma-sensei identified him, though her slow breathing didn't even catch.

Inner-Sakura had the advantage of not being heard and she utilized it, starting violently, _Uchiha Itachi?_

_Would that make him…how is he related to Sasuke? _Sakura was bright and analytical. It didn't take long to make the connection between the Massacre and this new Uchiha, when Sasuke was supposed to be the last. _I wonder if he's the man Sasuke wants to kill. _

Sakura snapped her attention back to the situation unfolding before her, because she was suddenly certain she'd stumbled on something extremely dangerous. It would be smart to retreat, but it wasn't practical. Now that they were no longer distracted by the approach of the other, they would notice her movements. And with luck, if she didn't advance or retreat, neither party would consider her a threat worth investigating if they did detect her.

Uchiha Itachi's companion had just said something about introducing himself. Sakura wasn't really all that surprised when he took his hat off. Seeing someone related to Sasuke who was apparently an infamous missing nin had prepared her for six-foot plus blue shark men.

_Sure, _Inner-Sakura drawled. _Keep telling us that. We wouldn't really want to fall off this branch. It would give surprise attack a whole new meaning. _

Sakura barely breathed through the confrontation that followed, having her suspicions about Itachi's relationship to the Uchiha Massacre, and watched as two respected jounin-sensei were brushed off like they were gennin. Then Kakashi-sensei came and it only got worse, because it became apparent that there was a vast difference in Kakashi-sensei's mastery of the Sharingan and Uchiha Itachi's. His sheer speed was unreal.

Almost like it moved without her permission, her fingers crept gently toward her kunai holster. It was only when she felt the cold metal of the kunai that she realized what she was about to do.

_This is insane_, Sakura thought frantically.

_You are telling that to your alternate personality. I believe that's the classical definition. _

Tiny droplets of water hit her face as Itachi detonated his shadow clone. Her arms began to tremble, infinitesimally, and she stilled them. If she was going to do this, she couldn't afford to miss.

Sakura chose the kunai with the tiny grooves etched into their handles. Those were the ones with exploding tags. She'd always used them to compensate for her lack of taijutsu, ninjutsu, and generally all other close combat skills in the past. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke carried them on a regular basis.

"Why do you think," Itachi's low, fascinating voice asked, "that the Uchiha clan is known by all and feared by all?" Sakura lost his next words, because she was already in motion, her arm snapping forward, releasing her wave of kunai, moving almost before they left her fingers. But not before.

She saw Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei's eyes widen at the attack.

_Don't be surprised yet, _Inner-Sakura cackled.

_Sakura, you're so stupid! _She'd already used her speed, formed the handsign, watched as carefully as Gai-sensei had ever taught her in the smoky aftermath of the explosion.

She'd kept to the trees, choosing to stay in cover, but her movement had put her nearer to Kakashi-sensei and the other Konoha jounin. Only later would she realize what a mistake that had been. Because of course Uchiha Itachi wasn't going to be killed by an attack by a gennin. Sakura didn't know what she'd hoped to accomplish. Because at that moment she met Sharingan eyes and she was swallowed by crimson.

It was a world with an ochre sky, where wispy black clouds were blown on a wind that didn't ruffle her hair or the water she was standing on. Black water. In fact, except for the sky, it was all in monochrome.

"What's this technique called?" she asked levelly.

From behind her came the calm reply. "Tsukuyomi."

Sakura turned and there he stood, his red clouds all in black. "A genjutsu produced by a kekkai genkai. Can it be broken using normal methods?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Itachi allowed. "You do realize how pointless it was to attack me."

"Yes."

"And while flashy, it was inefficient. You could not see me for the mist your attack created. You are like Kisame in that way."

"I panicked," Sakura admitted. "I thought it might serve as a distraction." She was feeling strangely calm, resigned almost. She was waiting for him to hurt her. Inner-Sakura had gone very quiet and still, almost to where Sakura couldn't feel her.

"For whom? Your allies were more surprised than I. Though your chakra control was admirable, I must admit. It was a pity you didn't think to cloak it until the last moment."

Sakura was startled by his compliment. She was beginning to understand that not only was Itachi dangerous, he was a different kind of beast altogether from any ninja she'd ever met before. "I wasn't expected to stumble onto a battle," she said.

There was silence between them. "What is this genjutsu meant to do?" she asked at last, because the waiting seemed intolerable

Itachi tilted his head slightly to the side. "It's a very… functional jutsu. At present, I am torturing Hatake Kakashi and though it will seem like only a moment to those outside, he will have suffered for seventy-two hours within my illusion. He will not last. He does not have the strength or stamina of one who came by our kekkai genkai naturally."

Sakura blinked. "Kakashi-sensei doesn't have the strength to break your genjutsu?"

Itachi looked consideringly at her. "Tsukuyomi cannot be broken by those inside the illusion. And as I said, to those outside it will seem but a moment. By the time they realize he is in danger, the damage will have already been done. Tell me, are you one my foolish otouto's teammates?"

"Yes," she said warily.

"I see," the illusion Itachi replied. He slowly closed his eyes. "It is unfortunate for you, but I'm afraid I cannot let you leave this illusion world unscathed. Take this lesson to heart, little kunoichi. When you challenge those greater than yourself, you must accept loss as the inevitable outcome."

Sakura found her heart was in her throat as a black cross rose behind her, binding her to it. And when Itachi pulled a katana from the depths of his cloak, she wondered if it might try to escape. Sakura knew jutsu. And she knew genjutsu and the rules for breaking them; that was the one thing, besides walking up trees, that Kakashi-sensei had managed to teach her.

But this was a genjutsu from a kekkai genkai—her thoughts were abruptly cut off as Itachi rammed the katana through her abdomen, just missing her liver. Blood flecked her lips. Sakura ignored the pain, ignored it as it was magnified. Because she had one advantage over genjutsu.

Genjutsu took control over an opponent's chakra and senses and used their own power against them. That was why it was so difficult to escape. But Sakura's mind was fragmented. It was impossible to catch all of her mind in an illusion. She had someone on the outside here on the inside.

She felt Inner-Sakura stretch inside her mind, searching for the distinctive tells that would allow her to break the genjutsu.

_How…weird_, Inner-Sakura commented. _His chakra burns or something. It's strange. _

_ Can you break it? _Sakura demanded. She whimpered as Itachi dug the blade in again. _You just need to interrupt the chakra flow. _

_O-kay, _Inner-Sakura warned, _but this is going to hurt. I'm going to disturb the chakra from inside, so, if your heart stops, don't panic._

Sakura felt a spreading numbness in her extremities and she quickly realized what Inner-Sakura was doing. She was stealing all Sakura's chakra, pulling it into the nothingness inside her mind where she existed.

_If this doesn't stop my heart, it's going to hemorrhage my brain, _Sakura panted, panic welling as the dimension began to swirl.

"What are you doing?" Itachi demanded and Sakura thought she really must be dying, because the impassive expression on his face had broken. "You're going to kill yourself."

"You have no idea how true that is," Sakura whispered as the last of Itachi's illusion swirled away like bloody water going down a drain. The ochre sky took on the tint of the black water, and crimson stars with trailing tails replaced black clouds.

_I always knew Sakura was an unlucky name for a shinobi, _Sakura thought to herself and her thoughts felt slow and soft, liked they'd been wrapped in cotton. _Too much transience. _

She didn't realize that she was quite literally thinking aloud as Uchiha Itachi, for the first time in many years, was perplexed by this challenge to his Tsukuyomi. What had been a vast still lake of black water suddenly bloomed with the white and blasted skeletons of dead cherry trees. Before the kunoichi could entrap them both in the fracturing of her mind, he released his genjutsu on her.

Sakura's body tumbled out of the tree she'd hidden in, making an ugly fleshy sound as it hit the ground. A heartbeat later, Kakashi collapsed as well.

In the end, it was Gai who saved the day. But, somehow, when Uchiha Itachi had tonelessly ordered his companion to retreat, there was no sense of victory. As Kurenai and Asuma supported Kakashi between them, Gai leaped to the wide boulevard beside the river.

As soon as he saw the pink hair that crowned the crumpled figure, he knew. Blurring out of sight, he reappeared at her side. She'd fallen awkwardly without the control of her body and one arm bent strangely beneath her.

"Sakura-chan," he whispered, but there was no response.

Checking her pulse he found it weak and slow. Even this close he could barely detect her breath. Pulling his sometimes student gently into his arms, he noticed a slow trickle of blood from her nose. It wasn't surprising, given that she'd fallen face-first, but when he noticed similar streams of blood from both her ears, Gai felt a moment of panic.

"We need to get them to the healers," he commanded the others, barely waiting for them to follow.

The healers couldn't find the damage that kept Kakashi in a coma. As they rushed to stop the bleeding in her brain, they all knew what was killing Sakura, but couldn't do anything except keep the swelling down, drain the blood, and try to determine what was putting stress on the blood vessels.

Neither of them were aware when Sasuke joined them in their comatose state. The danger to Sakura caused not a ripple, but the Elders were understandably upset over the loss of one of the village's strongest jounin and the last loyal Uchiha.

The search for Tsunade, the third of the Sannin, took precedence over everything besides the normal function of the village. For the people of Konoha, it was for the protection and leadership that only a Hokage provided. For Naruto, it was his only chance to heal Sasuke, and though he did not know it, Kakashi and Sakura as well.

A/N:…It started off at only four pages. And I really should stop using Japanese, as I always have this terrible feeling I'm butchering the language. Author rant-question number two: If Naruto and Sasuke kill each other, does that mean Sakura gets to be Hokage? Because that would be poetic justice. Which means it won't happen. Is my physical characterization of Sakura believable? She is a twelve year old with massive self esteem issues, after all, but let's all admit it. Even after the time-skip, she's the least feminine of all the kunoichi. Only in my story, instead of bemoaning that fact or suddenly becoming this knock-out as soon as she hits puberty, I'm going to let Sakura make that work for her.


	5. The Hollow Moon Rises REDUX

Disclaimer: Ah, if only…

A/N: Regarding spelling: I've seen the name of Itachi's attack and the name of the moon god himself spelled both Tsukiyomi and Tsukuyomi, so I don't know which is correct. I will probably continue using the latter for continuity within the story. And rewriting this, I realized what I was doing in the first version was basically copying and adapting Sasuke and Naruto's strongest attributes for Sakura. This time through, I'm working on a strong and unique Sakura, though she'll end up every bit as powerful and capable as the Sakura of the original.

I suppose I might as well put in a warning for disturbing images below, though the scene has changed a lot from the first version, which I was fairly fond of, but the reactions didn't seem to fit. You'll have to tell me how you like it. And, chess lovers, please don't hurt me for taking liberties with the game as I don't play it.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Five-

The Rise of the Hollow Moon

It seemed like her world had gone up in black flames, then some sadistic kami-sama had been so kind as to pour it through her veins. It scourged like Gaara's sand, eating its way through her heart, and when it had consumed that, the fire flowed back into her body. It was a pain like nothing she'd ever imagined or experienced. Not even her brief glimpse of the Tsukuyomi could compare.

The fire took away everything. Her urgency, her memory, and her will. It stole it all away. It even ate away time. Sakura struggled against her own pulse, praying that her heart would stop and the pain would end. But the kami-sama here was apparently the same one who'd poured the black fire into her to begin with, because the pain didn't stop.

Eventually, it became a choice between going mad or overcoming the pain. It was an easy choice. Sakura was already more than halfway crazy and the high-pitched keening laughter that turned into wheezing breathes only confirmed it. As sensory images beyond the pain began to filter in, she realized she was lying on her side and something hard was pressing into her cheek.

She couldn't make herself move, her strained breathing kicking up little tufts of candyfloss hair that had fallen over her face. Rolling her eyes, she surveyed the situation. The illusion that had replaced Itachi's hadn't changed. The same strange sky full of crimson lights, like someone had lit all the fireflies in the world on fire and then cast them into a net of black silk. Ugly, bone-white cherry trees, petrified with age.

_ What am I laying on?_ Sakura thought eventually, when she realized the protruding objects on the ground where'd just pressing into her cheek. The ground rattled and shifted as she moved stiffly. Gathering a handful, she looked at them in resignation. _Of course the ground would be made of human vertebrae. Of course._

Standing up, Sakura surveyed her surroundings. Like Itachi's genjutsu, she couldn't see the limits of the illusion. _Hopefully this _is_ an illusion and not hell. Stalking Sasuke for years wasn't really that bad, was it? _

There seemed to be nothing distinctive in any direction, so she set off aimlessly. The vertebrae moved and crunched beneath her sandals. _But I was pretty mean to Naruto. And I wasn't exactly the best filial daughter, either. _

It took a few moments for her sandals slapping against hard granite for her to look up from reminiscing about the time she'd told her mother she'd broken her vase by accident when it had been very much on purpose. The thing had been a grotesque shade of orange she wouldn't see again until she became teammates with Naruto.

_Not that Naruto's orange is grotesque, _she quickly backpedaled in her mind. _It was just…well, yeah, actually it was. And is. Whatever. _Sakura noticed her thoughts were coming quicker, that fuzzy, insulating distance disappearing, and she was better able to sense her surroundings. 

The first thing she noticed was a musky smell like snakes and old paper and there was a dry, bitter taste on her tongue that she thought might have come from the bone dust she'd been stirring up. That, and a harsh metallic scent that almost overrode the others.

The bone forest spread out behind her, but in front of her were marching rows of pillars of black iron. The question wasn't _Do I want to go forward, _but _Do I want to go back? _

Sakura, almost for the first time in her life, wasn't afraid. Sometimes it was life or death fear, as when they'd faced Zabuza and Haku. Sometimes it was the normal, everyday fear that asked if Sasuke was going to ignore her again today or if her hair was in place. Both made her hesitate. Both made her hate herself. But today Sakura wasn't afraid. So it took no courage at all to walk down the dark passage.

The forest of iron pillars seemed to get taller and the pillars themselves more numerous as she went, until she could no longer see the bone forest. Sakura didn't know if it was an illusion or not, but it felt like there was a slight slope to her path, which meant she was actually walking uphill.

The incline increased as she went, until she was almost bent over with the effort to keep walking up the glassy path. After an especially savage slip, where she busted open the skin over her kneecap, she was tempted for a moment to look back down the path and see how far she'd come.

_ But if I look back, I know I'll fall._

"No looking back," she growled, placing her hand flat against the hard surface. "No looking back."

She'd make it if she had to crawl. She'd spent her whole life staring ahead, watching as others struggled and not understanding what that meant. Sakura couldn't afford to live like that anymore. Even her name meant transience. It was what made sakura blossoms so beautiful, their tragically short lives. She'd been smugly self-satisfied with herself for so long, but she was almost sick when she thought of that Sakura, the one who thought she was young and was going to live forever.

Itachi had shown her beyond all reasonable doubt she wasn't immortal. She was half-convinced she was already dead. And she'd be damned if she spent her afterlife regretting the life she'd lived without doing something about it.

"Did you hear that, Itachi?" she grunted, a hand reaching out, finding the flat of the summit. "I'll beat this, dammit!" Sakura howled, her back arching, beads of sweat flying from her short hair as she flung her head back.

She pulled herself up that last hard step, on her hands and knees on the cold floor. A tremor wracked her body and she coughed, hard, and when she brought away her hand there was blood. _See, that proves I'm not dead. Just that I'm getting there. _

Sakura forced herself back to her feet. _Almost there, _she encouraged herself and she waited for the automatic _Almost where? _from Inner-Sakura, but it was silent inside her head.

As to where she was, after the long climb up she stood on the rim of an enormous circular depression, almost the size of the practice field at the Academy, ringed about by the same iron column, these narrower than the ones that had lined the earlier path. Those had been thicker around the base than most of the trees in Konoha. Tilting her head back, she couldn't see where they ended. It was almost like they supported the black sky.

There were stairs that lead down into the pit, broader at the base than the top. Cautiously she put her foot on the first step and seeing that it didn't spring any traps, she was prepared to descend, but a voice stopped her.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," a familiar voice greeted her.

Half-turning, Sakura's eyes widened as she realized why the voice had sounded so familiar. Another Sakura was standing on the rim, only the Sakura staring back at her looked less rumpled, bloodied, and generally exhausted. This Sakura, though she was wearing the sleeveless hooded shirt and cargo shorts that were still serving as her temporary training outfit and her long candyfloss bangs were ragged, looked like she'd never even heard of Uchiha Itachi, let alone had the gall to challenge him. Her left arm wasn't even bandaged from the encounter with Gaara.

What she was doing, though, was disconcerting, because there was a certain twist to her smile that Sakura herself was certain she'd never managed to mold her features into during her life. It was chilling really, especially as the smile widened and the jade eyes crinkled shut with the force of it.

"Sakura-chan, I was waiting for you," the other Sakura said teasingly. Her eyes opened ever so slowly and Sakura's breath caught in her throat. Because she was looking into eyes that were suddenly shining gold, hard and cold as the metal they resembled, with narrow vertical slits for pupils. "Surprised, Sakura-chan?" her own voice chirped at her.

"You…," she accused.

It was disconcerting to watch her own hand rise and peel away her face, the skin shredding and peeling like snakeskin. But when the rest of the figure changed, becoming taller, with white skin and hair much darker and finer than her own, she was reassured rather than perturbed. After all, she knew how to react to this.

Hands moving almost as fast as thought, three kunai came to her right hand, two to her left. She released the three in her right hand in a splayed vertical pattern that would hit her target in the head, heart, and groin if he stood still, but she was anticipating his movement. As soon as she saw the muscles tensing, the way his eyes moved, she anticipated the way he would dodge and flicked her remaining kunai toward where she knew his momentum would take him. Simultaneously she pulled more kunai from her holster, her faith in her analytical abilities undercut by her first-hand knowledge of her opponent's ability as a ninja.

When he appeared inside her guard, knocking her kunai carelessly out of her hand, she knew she'd been right. "That wasn't very nice, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru mocked, his hand striking out. The blow caught her at the base of her throat, closing off her trachea painfully and sending her tumbling backwards down the stairs.

Coughing and trying desperately just to breathe, Sakura glared up at the ninja who loomed over her slighter form. "Won't you just have some tea?" he asked as he brushed by her, close enough that the fabric of his yukata brushed against her arm.

Rolling painfully to her feet, she turned to confront Orochimaru, only to freeze in surprise. The depression had been empty when she'd taken her first steps into it, she was certain. Jade eyes narrowing, she attempted the release technique for genjutsu, wondering why she hadn't thought to try it before.

_Because of course it wouldn't work, _she answered herself a moment later.

A frown tugged the corners of her lips downward. Sakura knew that this whole area was simply an incredibly immersive genjutsu. But it didn't make it any more pleasant to see that the iron columns suddenly bore long banners bearing the Haruno crest, but the traditional red was very dark, almost a burgundy-brown. And directly across from her, hanging some six or seven feet above the floor and impaled through the chest with a sword, was the Third Hokage.

She didn't realize she was speaking until she heard herself voice the words. "Did you put him up there?"

Orochimaru chuckled, a dark and ugly sound. "No. You already know who put him there. Come, sit," he invited, indicating the low table on a platform in the center of the area. It and the cushions looked utterly innocuous, a green ceramic tea service waiting for the host to pour.

Sakura cautiously advanced, folding her legs underneath her as she took a seat on one of the cushions. Orochimaru served the tea, his movements sinuous and elegant as he went through the motions of the ritual. Sakura kept her silence until he offered her a ceramic cup. From the deep color and the distinctive smoky flavor, she knew it was lapsang souchong, which was an expensive thing to offer because it had to be imported from across the sea. She'd tasted it only once, somewhere far back in her memory, but now it only reminded her of the smell and taste of smoke that had lingered for days after the invasion.

"Why you?" she asked at last.

"Why not? Am I not the person you fear the most, Sakura-chan?"

"Not Uchiha Itachi?" Sakura responded dryly. _None of this is real_.

"Itach-kun? Of course not. In fact, you're not afraid of him at all."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Why should you be?" he countered. "He has no interest in you at all. You were barely even an opponent—he only used his genjutsu when you revealed you were his brother's teammate."

All of it was true. Sakura hadn't felt any killing intent from Itachi, not even when he'd been torturing her. All his reactions were subtle, the curiosity he felt about her challenge, some small change that had been too complex for her to read when they'd spoken of his brother, but at the end something genuine had entered his voice. He wasn't anything at all like his partner, who radiated low-key killing intent just walking down that empty boulevard.

Sakura eyes narrowed as she stared down at her cup of tea, eyes flicking upward to meet self-satisfied golden orbs. _Why is Orochimaru playing psychiatrist?_ seemed a good question to ask herself. The better question was, _Why am I not trying to kill him? Or at least trying to run away? _

"Is this a genjutsu?"

Orochimaru sighed disappointedly. "Don't ask unbearably stupid questions, Sakura-chan, especially ones you already know the answer to."

A shiver chased its way up her spine.

The edges of Orochimaru's lips tugged upward as he smiled at her again, one long finger running up the ridged edge of his ceramic cup. "Don't you think it's boring?"

"What?" Sakura asked, immediately suspicious at his sudden good mood.

"Peace, of course. Isn't it the most tedious thing? Everything becomes stagnant, corrupt, like a pool of water left to rest. Soon it becomes infested, first with microorganisms, then larger creatures. If the nearby soil isn't good, it becomes poisonous to drink. Peace is the same way. It corrupts," his voice became soft, intimate, and his eyes held hers, "everything."

Her hands, which had been cupping her tea, spasmed so hard that cracks ran up the sides of the ceramic vessel and the warm liquid flowed out over her fingers. Ceramic broke in sharp edged pieces that cut at her hands, adding blood to the already red liquid.

Orochimaru tsked. "Clumsy Sakura-chan. Here, let me…" he reached across the table, as if to grasp her hands, but Sakura pulled them back, scrubbing them furiously against her shorts.

He wasn't perturbed. Instead he laughed. "Ah, Sakura-chan, we'll have such fun. Do you play games?"

"Not with S-class missing-nin," she bit back.

"Oh, but you see, I do play games with foolish little Konoha genin," he said, tapping his index finger once against the table. The tea set shattered into tiny fragments, leaving drops of the black tea spattered across the table top. _Something_ moved in the cushion beneath her and Sakura looked down to see human fingers, the nails broken and purple, forcing their way through the seams.

"Let's make ourselves comfortable, ne?" Sakura sat in a kind of paralyzed fascination as things spilled from the cushion like organic, bloody stuffing. Twisted almost people shapes stretched, creaked, and gurgled until she found herself sitting in a chair made of what might have been human corpses, except the flesh was so bruised and putrefied they were recognizable only by the skeletal structure, and then only barely.

The cushion she'd originally set down upon was still there, cradled by the bodies, as was the table. Only to accommodate the new height of their seats other things had crawled up from the floor, bearing the table on their backs, their twisted appendages grasping the edges to keep it level and in place.

The stench of it was appalling, worse than a slaughterhouse in midsummer. The depression around their platform had been filled with a thin lake of liquid that could only be blood. Someone was screaming and Sakura thought it was her, but when other voices rose to join it, only to be snuffed out, she realized it was coming from the outer darkness.

Orochimaru was watching her, she knew, taking note of every faintly trembling muscle, the way she struggled to swallow down the bile. "See, Sakura-chan, that wasn't so bad, was it? The screaming only lasted a little while. That all it ever lasts."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked when she found her voice again. _Because you're just that sick, _she answered herself in her head.

His answer was different. "I told you before, it's not me doing this."

"Well, there aren't a lot of other people here," she snarled, wanting to lean forward but afraid to move, afraid to touch the arms of the chairs that were very literal arms, bent and broken and wasted.

"No, there aren't," he replied. "That's what should make this a very easy question to answer, yet you keep asking, as if the answer will change."

"You haven't given me an answer."

"Yes," he said with finality, "I have. Now," and he clapped his hands like a pleased child at a birthday party, "let's play."

A hard wind blew across the area, rippling the bloody lake, and blowing grainy bone dust into Sakura's eyes. It stung and she closed her eyes, rubbing at them, feeling a gritty slickness on her face that wouldn't come from only tears. When she opened her eyes, there was a chess board set on the table and Orochimaru was watching her with languid, expectant eyes.

"Tell me," he asked, "Do you know how to play chess?"

"A little," Sakura admitted as she looked over the board. Chichi-ue had taught her how. She remembered she hadn't liked it as much as shogi, which had been second to go for her favorite game to play with her father. But she'd never played with a chess set this intricate.

The figurines were cast in the like of people she recognized, especially on the white side. On black, she recognized only Orochimaru himself in the king position, Kabuto serving as the right hand bishop. Sakura was positioned to play as white, but she noticed the king, wearing white robes and the distinctive hat, had already been toppled.

"This game is already over," she said softly. "Chess ends when the king is taken."

There was a soft, snide sound from Orochimaru. "Then get a new king. A Hokage can always be replaced." Behind him, the pinned figure of the Sandaime flickered like a candle about to go out, then bright yellow flames began to lick at his sandaled feet. Sakura looked down, keeping her focus on the board as the burning figure briefly cast warm orange light across the cold landscape.

"Besides, the king is what you protect. What is it your heart wants to protect, Sakura-chan? Surely it wasn't a doddering old man."

What did Sakura want to protect? Images of friends, teammates, parents flashed through her mind, but it only took a moment for them to mesh together, forming a more complete picture. She took the fallen king piece in her hand and when she set it aright it was a tiny tree.

"Konohagakure no Sato itself, is it? How very sentimental. I wonder how much you are really prepared to sacrifice to keep your precious village safe."

Sakura made no answer to him.

That only made his smirk deeper. "So, are you ready to sacrifice friends," his hand hovering over the members of the Rookie Nine with the exception of herself that lined the frontline as pawns, "mentors," his long fingers indicated Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei where they served as knights, "strangers," implicating the barely-familiar figures of the remaining two Sannin where they occupied the two corners, "elders," the two advisors to the Hokage that flanked the king and queen as bishops, "and even yourself, Sakura-chan?"

With a twist of his wrist, he produced another figurine, filling the empty position of the queen with a likeness of herself.

"Queen? Why queen?" Sakura asked before she could stop herself. "Everyone else is a pawn."

"The game ends when the king is captured, but the queen is the most powerful piece on the board. Surely you intend to make yourself the most powerful piece in your own game," he explained patiently as he withdrew to his own side.

"You're not the queen on your side," she pointed out snidely.

His smile was ugly and knowing. "I don't think you're quite prepared to play as I do, Sakura-chan. In order to play as the king, you have to be prepared to sacrifice _everything_ for yourself. Could you play like that, Sakura-chan? Because," and he reached out, ever so slightly, "we could change the game, if you prefer."

"No," she said sharply. "Don't touch them." She'd promised herself that the man whose illusionary double sat in front of her would never touch them again.

"Tsk, tsk, Sakura-chan," he chided her. "Don't be too attached. Your emotions will hinder your decision-making. They will make you hesitate and hesitation will cost you everything. As a ninja, you must always be prepared to sacrifice." He reached forward and moved a pawn to e5.

"White moves first," Sakura protested.

"I cheat," Orochimaru said simply. "It's your move."

Sakura felt herself beginning to hesitate. After all, this genjutsu had already proven how flexible it was about making the experience worse. So she reached out, taking the small Chouji figure firmly and advancing him to e4.

When Orochimaru moved one of his knights to c6, Sakura was beginning to see the pattern. To test it, Sakura moved Kakashi-sensei to f3. When Orochimaru's bishop advanced diagonally to f5, she was certain. The opening was Two Knights Defense, the only opening she'd ever seen her Oka-san use, albeit the moves reversed since Orochimaru had started with black. Sakura moved Gai-sensei to c3 to complete the formation.

"Good," Orochimaru said softly. "Very good. Remember to protect your pawns, Sakura-chan, because every pawn can be promoted. Are you ready to begin playing for real?"

Around them, the circle of sixty-four pillars stood, empty and waiting.

A/N: Itachi doesn't have a demon. And Itachi is beyond awesome, even suffering from a lung disease and more than half blind (I can't even imagine how powerful an Itachi with a clean bill of health would be—can you say you're screwed, Sasuke?). Therefore, it stands to reason that a Sakura without a demon can also be beyond awesome. And besides, this time through, it's all on her own power. Naruto's awesomeness relies in large part on the Kyuubi and Sasuke's on his Sharingan, so I wanted a Sakura that didn't need to borrow power from anyone or anything to protect what's precious to her.

…You know, I'm looking forward to rewriting the Sakura and Neji chapters.


	6. The First Kingdom in Ascendance REDUX

Disclaimer: Naruto is still not mine, but I can say I own the plot, which is something, at least.

A/N: Still not to the major deviations in the plot, but even pebbles can change the course of a river. Or something philosophical like that. But, since I was so inconsiderate as to do a rewrite in the first place, I was thinking that while I was in the process of writing, you could include in your review things you liked in the original version or things you felt it lacked, so I can keep them in mind. I can't promise anything, but I am trying to get through the rewrite as quickly as possible so I can get to new chapters. Once summer hits, the internet becomes somewhat lacking, so here goes.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Six-

The First Kingdom in Ascendance

The pillars were filling again, she noted with clinical distance. More white than black, but that didn't mean anything. She was getting used to the brief, disturbing flashes of bloodshed each time a piece was captured. She stopped flinching when someone was cut down, crying as one of her pieces "died." Sakura had just promoted the Shikamaru-pawn, making him a bishop though he'd be of more tactical advantage as a queen. She thought it was perhaps a remnant of his original personality—he was still useful, but nowhere near living up to his full potential.

Orochimaru made his move without speaking. They'd been playing in silence for several games. Sakura had drawn her legs up to sit cross-legged, leaning forward to survey her battlefield with narrowed eyes. She reached for her knight. Her hand hesitated. He wasn't just a knight, was he? He wasn't really Kakashi-sensei, but didn't that piece represent him? Even if this wasn't real, what right did she have to do this? She wasn't his Hokage, wasn't his superior in any way. What right did she have to move that piece?

Sakura pulled her hand back into her lap.

Orochimaru noticed the movement. "Something the matter, Sakura-chan? It's still your move."

"How many games have we played?" Sakura asked with her head bowed as she tried to recall. They all blended into a long string of defeats and victories.

"Several," he dissembled. He was settled comfortably into his throne-chair, leaning on one arm. His hair looked so dark against his skin.

Her thoughts had gotten distant again, but lacked the wrapped-in-cotton feel. "How long have I been here?" she asked, rephrasing her question.

Golden eyes were warmer than they should be, molten rather than chilled. "Tiring of my company so soon?" he teased.

"Not soon enough," she admitted, sliding from her seat. "I'm finished."

"But the game isn't."

Sakura looked down on the board, the captured pieces laid carelessly on their sides. In one smooth move she swept the game from the table, board and pieces and all, and in her sight they hung in the air for a moment, just enough time for a grim, determined smile. "Now it is," she said, turning her back on the deadliest missing-nin to have ever left Konoha, with the notable exception of Uchiha Itachi.

She heard the soft sound of fabric moving as he stirred, then there was a change in the quality of the sound, less like fabric and more like scales. It was only an instant's notice, but she ducked and rolled to the left, the movement taking her to the very edge of the platform. An enormous white snake's head was suddenly filling the space where she'd been.

Its body was too large to fit on the platform, so its body trailed into the bloody lake, so she had no real idea of how long it was. Little s-shaped ripples on the top of the water occasionally split to reveal dark backs, so she knew that it wasn't the only snake in the water.

The huge triangular head turned toward her slowly, the black tongue tasting the air. She was only slightly surprised when it spoke. "That was very rude, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru's voice chided.

"Yeah, well, excuse me for not being polite when asked to kill my friends."

A deep, sinister chuckle seemed to course through his body. "You seemed to have no trouble before. Perhaps you should change your dream to becoming Hokage. After all, when Sasuke-kun leaves, you'll need _something_ to do. You've just proven that you're ruthless enough."

Sakura stood, wondering how the liquid being blood would affect the water-walking technique. It had a different density and was used to channel chakra when a person was alive—would that change how she'd have to mold the chakra in her feet? Her second fear was that once she touched the water, the smaller snakes would gather and try to attack. Sakura knew her primary focus would have to be avoiding Orochimaru. Whether his fangs were poisonous or not they were long enough to spear her through. She could already predict that a moment of unawareness of all her surrounding would see her bitten. With snakes, that might be enough.

"Sasuke won't leave," she protested, to buy herself time to think. Sakura wanted to believe that, but she also remembered what the real Orochimaru had said. He'd said that Sasuke would come to him for power. When Sakura's heart faltered, she believed him.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, you can lie to others, but can you lie to yourself?" Orochimaru asked, almost like he could read her thoughts.

She was startled when white scales began to fall away from the body, slowly at first, then faster, almost like there was no flesh or organs to the creature, just scales. When it was finished, the Sannin was standing in his human form again.

Sakura was getting tired of the back and forth. She was getting tired of everything. All the death, all the pain. She'd been numb to it after a while, but now that she was no longer plotting her next move, watching Orochimaru as she tried to anticipate his strategy, deciding what needed to be sacrificed to keep her Konoha king-piece safe the enormity of what she'd been doing was slowly creeping up on her.

How could she face any of those people again? How could she tell Ino that'd she given her away without a second thought, though she'd captured Orochimaru's king in the next move.

Realizing that she was dangerously close to hyperventilating, Sakura took a long breath and held it until her lungs hurt before she released it. Ruthlessly she shoved aside those thoughts. Even apology would be impossible if she died here.

So she challenged him. "Why are you here, Orochimaru?"

"This question again…" he sighed, with that hard glittering edge that accompanied all his actions. "Didn't I tell you?"

"You told me that it was because you were the person I feared the most, but that wasn't the answer."

A soft chuckle was his response. "Are you really sure you want to hear, Sakura-chan? Because once you know, you won't be able to go back."

"Tell me," Sakura hissed, hands fisted by her side, back straight.

"When you made your foolish challenge to Itachi-kun's Tsukuyomi, you managed to break his genjutsu, but you also turned it inward on yourself."

Her hands slackened for a moment, but then she pulled them tight again. "What does that mean?"

"Use your famed analytic skills and sharp mind, Sakura-chan. You already know what the answers."

"That can't be the right answer. It can't," she insisted. "I only know how to release genjutsu."

"And yet you created such a fearsome illusion for yourself. Impressive, if only you had chosen a different target."

Orochimaru's transformation had smashed the table they'd been playing at, but the pieces were still scattered around the floor. The Kakashi-sensei knight piece was turned toward her and for a second she thought it looked accusing. "It's my genjutsu," Sakura said, her voice hollow. "That means…"

"How does it feel to know your very mind has turned against you, Sakura-chan?" he asked, a waiting smile on his face.

Sakura's jaw clenched, her hands dropping instinctively into her kunai holster, three weapons with exploding tags attached flying through the air between them before she could have second thoughts.

Leaping backwards without taking her eyes off of him, careful to adjust her chakra as her sandaled feet touched the lake, she made the handsign. "Die," she snarled, feeling self-satisfaction that didn't make her hesitate to turn and run in great leaping bounds, deftly avoiding the snakes that tried to strike at her.

She made the steps, the rim, then something hit her in the back and she began to fall. Sakura tumbled roughly down the incline for the first few rotations, but then she managed to get her hands out, somersaulting into a forward run. Running downhill was always dangerous with the possibility of tripping, but controlling her balance while being aware of attack from behind made it equal in difficulty to anything she'd done during Gai-sensei's training.

It felt like it took a long time, but at last she reached the bottom, panting.

"All that desperate training and that's all you can do?" a voice right by her shoulder asked.

Sakura automatically put distance between them and fell into a defensive stance. She didn't have much confidence in her taijutsu being effective against one of the Sannin, but she'd already proved medium-range combat pointless.

"Don't look so ferocious, Sakura-chan. I'm here to help."

It was such a ridiculous statement and it was said in such a serious voice that Sakura actually laughed. "Please, say that again. At least then I'll die laughing."

"Whether I say it or not, you're going to die Sakura-chan. Your brain is bleeding as we speak. When you broke Tsukuyomi, you pulled all your chakra into the crown chakra, which was enough to overload your sensory abilities and break the genjustsu. But you had too much control of it—you stopped your own heart, though it started again once you lost consciousness and some of your chakra was able to return to normal paths. You're still pooling most of your chakra, which is what why this genjutsu persists."

Sakura had suspected that she'd done both, but to have it diagnosed so clinically, in such a careless voice made her bring her hand to her head. "Why doesn't it hurt?" she asked quietly, not really expecting an answer.

"The brain doesn't have pain receptors. That's why it's such a dangerous injury."

A long silence stretched between them.

"Is there a way to break the genutsu?" she asked at last.

"Not here," Orochimaru responded. "To break this genjutsu, you'll have to go to the source."

Sakura blinked. "If this is my genjutsu, then I'm the source, aren't I?"

"You both are and you aren't, in the same way that you are and you aren't one person. Your mind is fragmented."

She remembered how Inner-Sakura had drawn in the chakra in the same way she'd hidden away the pain during Gaara's match. If Orochimarul, the personification of the person she feared most, had been made real by the genjutsu it was equally likely that her alternate personality was somewhere in the illusion.

Understanding must have shown in her eyes. "See, Sakura-chan, it wasn't that hard, was it? All you ever had to do was find yourself."

Sakura glared up him through her bangs. "So, if you're here to help, I don't suppose that means you'll lead the way?"

"Sometimes too much help is hindrance. You know that better than anyone."  
_So that's a no, then, _she thought, but she couldn't say that he was wrong, either. Naruto had protected her because he liked her. Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei had protected her out of obligation. They'd sheltered her too much and never allowed her to grow.

Warily she started forward, expecting another attack, but he only stood to the side and smiled. He fell in after her, first in human form, then as the giant serpent. Sakura took to ignoring him, because the intense paranoia got old very quickly.

She didn't have a destination, really. The illusion seemed mainly to consist of the bone forest, because the courtyard of pillars disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared even though the landscape was flat. It wasn't like she was going in circles, either. The space between the trees changed as well as the trees themselves. But Sakura had thrown the idea of the impossible out a mental window shortly after her arrival.

Time was something measured by indicators that weren't available to her here, so Sakura didn't know how long she walked with the great serpent trailing behind. She got tired, her knees aching, sweat making her bangs stick to her brow, but she never got hungry or thirsty. Sakura had taken to plodding along, head down, when she chanced to look up and notice they were growing closer to a dense strand of the cherry trees, black flame licking at their bases.

From the outer darkness, someone stepped forward. Sakura recognized her inner self, her form as monochrome as the world of Tsukuyomi. "Took you long enough," the figure complained, one hand on a hip.

"Sorry, got lost on the road of life," Sakura said, borrowing Kakashi-sensei's favorite excuse.

"Well, probably because you were following the wrong map. This is white space. You know, 'Here there be monsters," and all that."

"How'd this even happen?" Sakura asked, stepping nearer to her double. "It should have either outright broken the genjutsu or killed us."

"Don't be too sure it hasn't done the second," Inner-Sakura muttered darkly. "It was probably that freakin' Uchiha's chakra. It felt weird. Besides, what were we thinking, messing with a kekkai genkai?"

"We were thinking that seventy-two hours of torture sounded a little excessive. I don't really need to be more crazy," Sakura responded dryly.

"Yeah, well, we probably should have just rode it out. Because you're not going to like my idea."

"What idea?"

Inner-Sakura sighed, running a hand up the side of her face to bury it in her hair. "We're dying," she said bluntly.

"I know," Sakura said softly.

"No you don't!" Inner-Sakura shouted, suddenly angry. "You can't even feel it, can you? Your brain might not have pain receptors, but everything else does and the brain controls all of those. Even if we could wake up, the pain would put us into shock and we'll die anyway."

Sakura straightened, her posture unconsciously mirroring her inner's confrontational stance. "And what are we supposed to do about that? You said it yourself. There isn't exactly a handbook to this."

"Then we're going to take a leaf out of Naruto's book and write one. Because I won't let us die," Inner-Sakura said firmly. "No way are we going to lose to an Uchiha that's not Sasuke-kun. Besides, if we beat this, we can call ourselves Sharingan Eater Sakura or something."

Sakura felt one of her brows rise toward her hairline. "Right," she agreed after a pause, "and what exactly is this plan?"

By the expression on her other personality's face, she knew she wouldn't like it. "Y'know how I was always in your head, saying all the things you wanted to say? First in, last out of a fight and all that, while you stood on the sidelines like our mother was watching?"

Sakura frowned. She'd lived that way for a long time. Only recently had she and Inner-Sakura become more similar. There'd been differences though. Inner-Sakura hadn't felt any regret at killing those ninja, not even once.

"Well, let's just say you were relying too much on your superego and your id had to express itself some way. That's probably where I came from."

Sakura knew what she meant. She'd incorporated her mother's crippling teachings so deeply in her unconscious as part of her superego, that part of subconscious self ruled by the dictates and norms of society, that she'd hardly had space enough for the commands of her ninja superiors. The id was her primal, innate self-and Sakura's subconscious self was violent, perhaps even more so than most, but she'd repressed it so deeply that it only manifested in violent outbursts against Naruto.

"I can still hide away the pain like I did in our fight with Gaara," Inner-Sakura confided. "I can't die in the same way that you can. But I can't handle as much as our body is feeling. It's like every nerve-endings on fire. I'll channel it into our id, the darkest and most bestial part. It doesn't feel pain in the same way."

"And what will happen to you?" Sakura asked, instinct telling her it wouldn't be that simple.

Inner-Sakura smiled then, the most tragic and beautiful smile Sakura had ever seen, full of courage and self-sacrifice. For the first time since she'd started training, she thought herself beautiful. "I wasn't real anyway," Inner-Sakura said, monochromatic tears sliding down her cheeks.

"You were as real as I was," Sakura replied. "Isn't there another way?"

"No," Inner-Sakura said sadly, reaching out. Sakura laced her fingers through hers, pale against black. "Promise you won't forget me?" she whispered.

"Can you forget yourself?" was Sakura's quiet response. She leaned forward until their foreheads were pressed together, negative images of each other.

"It's easier than you'd think," Inner-Sakura told her through her tears. Sakura could feel the warm trails her own tears were leaving. "It won't be like me anymore. You'll be seriously crazy, you know. There'll be weirdness that won't be satisfied with just being a voice in your head. Your personality won't just be fractured, it'll be broken. We were almost the same person, but this'll be like a stranger."

"I don't want to die," Sakura sobbed, hating herself for her weakness.

"Shh, shh," Inner-Sakura comforted her, though she didn't move to embrace her. "We won't die. We're going to live a long, long time."

"Statistically, that's untrue."

"We'll be powerful enough that statistics won't mean _anything _to us. You can take us there. I know you can."

"Can I do it without you?" Sakura asked.

"It's been you this whole time. No matter what happens, I know you'll make it," Inner-Sakura replied, her grip on their entwined fingers tightening. "Give Naruto some competition in that contest for Hokage.

Sakura nodded, sniffling.

"And stop crying," a shade of Inner-Sakura's usual strident voice came through. "Do it where no one can see you if you have to cry. Hide until you can stop the tears on the outside. Then cry on the inside."

"Got it," Sakura acknowledged, her voice still thick.

"You'll have to let go," Inner-Sakura told her gently.

"You're the one that's holding on so tightly," Sakura replied, almost laughing through her tears.

"Oh," Inner-Sakura voice was surprised. "Yeah." She slowly unlaced her fingers, stepping back into the copse of trees. "I'm afraid," she confided suddenly.

"Don't be," Sakura encouraged, wiping at her tears. At her back she felt the bulk of the snake draw closer. "Don't be."

Inner-Sakura, from some deep, unexpected well of strength, drew a smile. "See ya," she said.

As the black flames flared and began to crawl up the person who'd been the other part of herself for years, Sakura could only choke out three words. "I won't forget."

The grey-eyed nurse that was once again at Haruno-san's bedside was startled when clear, glistening tears began to course down her charges cheeks. She was supposed to be in a coma too deep to feel pain, so she called in the doctor. He examined her but could find no change in her state. Bleeding in her brain had subsided somewhat, but the vessels were still weak. They'd raised her heart rate with drugs, but it still fluttered from time to time, dropping dangerously low. She still bled occasionally from her nose and ears and two weeks into her stay she'd bled once from her eyes.

Neither said anything about the subject, but they both hoped it was a sign that the young ninja was beginning to heal.

Because they'd been dangerously close to losing hope.

A/N: By the way, thanks to everyone who's hung around and read so many chapters and for putting up with your capricious author.


	7. Heaven Opposing Everything REDUX

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. Sad, isn't it?

A/N: This one didn't get much longer, but here it is, rewritten for your viewing pleasure. Or displeasure, I suppose, if you preferred the first version. Because these last two chapters have been so short, I wanted to get another up as soon as possible.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Seven-

Heaven Opposing Everything

Something was writhing in the cocoon of fire, struggling to be born. Sakura watched it with careful eyes as something thrust through the flames, which she soon realized was a humanoid hand tipped with curved talons. While it was distracted with trying to climb through, Sakura put distance between them.

The creature finally broke free of the flames, its form disguised by one last flare of blame flame. Its newborn wail was somewhere between the roar of a beast and the cry of a raptor as it spotted prey. There was no more struggling as it smoothly rose, standing a good ten feet taller than Sakura.

"Amanozako," the name slipped unbidden through her lips as she recognized the form. The heavy, mane-like hair that feathered out near the top, the glowing red irises, the gnashing teeth, it all came from the scroll that she'd spent so much time flattening near her hospital bed.

It flexed oversized wings and a bitter wind made Sakura shiver.

"Going to have to find better hobbies, Sakura-chan. All that's in your head is dark things," Orochimaru hissed by her ear.

Eyes filled with a bestial sort of intelligence focused on them. "So you're what you think of as 'Sakura'," it, she, snarled.

She seemed more animal than human. Sakura held its eyes, even though a chill crept up her spine. "Yes. And what are you?"

With a mouth full a razor-edged fangs, the effect of smiling was gruesome rather than comforting. "I'm the part of you that you caged in the dark parts of your soul. The part of you that _enjoyed_ it when we killed those Oto-nin, that _resents_ your sensei and your yearmates. I am very much what he is a little bit of," she indicated Orochimaru, "and make no pretense about it."\ Sakura noted that Orochimaru was coiled in the strike position over her head, the triangular head swaying back and forth ever so slightly. "So I'm not dying anymore?"she asked bluntly. She wouldn't think about Inner-Sakura being replaced by this thing. She couldn't. "_We_ aren't dying anymore. The hemorrhaging in our brain has stopped. We are controlling the genjutsu rather than being controlled by it. Although," and her smile widened into a baring of teeth, "it won't ever really go away. Every time you meditate you'll run the risk of slipping back into this place. And won't that be a delight."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura demanded.

"When we escape, the ability we gained here won't simply be left behind. And neither will I. It won't only be meditation. Every time you leave your mind vulnerable in a moment of despair, every time you shed blood, I'll show your true self to everyone around you. The demon that revels in violence, capable of _unspeakable_," and its voice lingered lovingly on the word, "acts."

"You wouldn't," Sakura hissed. "I won't let you."

"And how will you stop me?" the creature's voice was deep with amusement. Before Sakura could even flinch it rushed her in a flurry of feathers and lingering flame, but luckily Orochimaru's reflexes were faster than her own.

The white snake streaked in front of her, taking the blow, the great coils knocking her out of the way as they thrashed.

Sakura recovered her feet, but her shoulder throbbed where she'd landed strangely. _She needs to be stopped, _she thought to herself, her mind racing as Amanozako tore into Orochimaru's side. Arcs of blood flashed through the air as she dug for his heart. He curled tighter and tighter, one of the great wings giving with an ugly crunching noise. They were both shrieking at each other, so loudly the noise almost drowned out her thoughts.

One thought struck her like lightning. _This is _my_ genjutsu and this is _my_ mind. _"I don't have to _let_ you do anything!" she roared, striking the ground open-palmed.

Chains burst forth from the ground, running endlessly into the black sky, knocking Orochimaru away from his opponent. They solidified into the vertical bars of a circular cage around Amanozako and though she beat her good wing against it, none of them gave.

Her jaw tight, Sakura stepped around a bloodied white body, drawing near to the cage. "I am Sakura. I am _master_ of my own mind. I won't let anyone hurt my friends, least of all myself."

Amanozako snarled. "I wonder how long that resolve will last when your friends begin to deserve it. Who's going to be master then?" she taunted.

Sakura tapped her heel against the ground and further chains sprang out the bones, these at diagonal angles, suspending Amanozako above the ground by impaling the muscular edges of her wings, her forearms, through the abdominal cavity. "Are you certain we're so different?" the demon asked as blood began to pool in its mouth.

"Yes. Because now that I've seen you, I won't ever let myself become you," Sakura said. Her voice turned sad. "For you, there is nothing sacred."

Amanozako laugh was thick and choked with blood. "You're such a little fool. All you've done is chain me with the manifestation of your superego. It's even less likely to hold things sacred than I. But it will make the path you've chosen for us easier to walk."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Amanozako pulled herself up by her forearms then let herself drop, rattling the chains. "You've leashed your id with your superego. You've wrapped your violence with the orders of outsiders. Just think, _master_, what we could become."

Sakura froze, but Amanozako continued to speak, now seeming to enjoy herself. "We could become the perfect shinobi, the killing machine without heart, without conscience, and without mercy. You'll be able to destroy anyone or anything and never hesitate, never regret."

"That's not what a shinobi is," Sakura snapped.

"Isn't it? Tell me, how is that not a shinobi? Ninja aren't meant to protect. They're meant to kill. Assassins, not guardians," Amanozako said, luxuriating in Sakura's horror. "At the end, all you'll be able to protect is your village, leaving nothing but corpses behind you. Isn't that what we _dreamed_ of?" her voice becoming low and intimate.

"They should also be able to protect their friends. That was part of the dream! The best part!" Sakura shouted up at her. "Everything else was for that!"

Amanozako sneered down at her. "How long will you be able to make that decision?"

"As long as it takes! Forever!"

"That's easy to say when we're only in the first Kingdom. You're all ego here, all balance and control and choice. But there are four lower Kingdoms. And when we reach the bottom, we'll have become the perfect ninja. Soulless, inhuman. You'll have become me, Sakura, chained in orders you'll never disobey."

"Shut up!" Sakura demanded and a final chain whistled through the air, entering at the junction between jaw and throat and exiting at the top of the forehead. Furious red eyes tried to burn her with their gaze, but Amanozako's words were silenced and only animal keening escaped her mouth.

Sakura was trembling. As she brought herself under control she noticed Orochimaru in human form, his crème yukata bloodied, standing at her shoulder.

"I won't," she told him. "I won't," she insisted desperately.

He shrugged. "Kindness and cruelty each have their own appeal and interest. Neither is boring."

Sakura turned to him. "Why are you still here?" she asked. She could already feel the edges of the illusion crumbling as the genjutsu began to waver. A wave of exhaustion hit her suddenly and she staggered.

"I'll always be here, Sakura-chan. Go to sleep," he advised. "I'll be there when you wake up."

It didn't seem like a good idea to listen to the traitor Sannin, but she could already see blackness spreading before her eyes like a fog. Bonelessly she fell forward, expecting pain, but she felt nothing as she slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N: How much more terrifying to realize that you are the demon, no supernatural help necessary, than to realize you've sealed a demon inside you? No matter what you did, you could blame only yourself for it.


	8. Awake: Team Seven Reunites! REDUX

Disclaimer:****When I own Naruto, I promise you that you'll be the first to know.

A/N: For the people who were confused, Amanozako is neither a demon nor a goddess in the rewrite. It's simply the form Sakura's id has assumed, dredged from the memory of the scroll. Sakura remembered her as being bestial and terrifying and subconsciously associated that ferocity with her own darkness. There is no supernatural interference at all, just the breakdown of Sakura's psyche. I'm drawing a lot of this from Freud, if you want to look up his theories, but it shouldn't really be necessary to understand the story. Orochimaru is the remnant of the genjutsu Sakura turned on herself, which dealt with her deepest fears—the death of her teammates and the Snake Sannin. He's lingering because with the absence of Inner-Sakura and the fracturing of Sakura's mindscape, he was integrated as the new voice in her head. So, more or less, simply another symptom of Sakura's craziness.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Eight-

Awake: Team Seven Reunites

It felt like someone had weighted her eyelids was Sakura's first conscious thought. Not trying too hard to force them open, she kept her breath slow and even, listening. There was at least one familiar pattern of steps as someone shifted their weight from foot to foot in impatience. _Naruto._ At least two other people, possibly a third.

Cautiously, Sakura forced her eyes to open, shutting them just as quickly when the light proved too bright, like a senbon to the eyeball.

"Oh, it looks like she'd awake," a woman's voice announced.

_Brilliant conclusion, _Sakura thought and then flinched, because even thinking hurt.

"Is she in pain?" Sakura recognized the voice of the grey-eyed nurse, but she couldn't remember her name, just those distinctive eyes.

"Hmm," the stranger's voice said, then a cool hand was laid against her forehead. A soothing flow of chakra startled her, but it eased the worst of her migraine.

Sakura sat up stiffly, her blankets pooling in her lap. Mechanically she turned to her blonde haired teammate, who looked like he was holding himself back only through force of will. "Hey, Naruto," she greeted softly.

He smiled brilliantly at her and the last of the tension that the blonde woman's chakra hadn't been able to touch was washed away. "You've been sleeping for a long time, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. He scratched his cheek, suddenly awkward. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Mmm," she agreed. She turned her attention to the woman whose chakra had healed her. "Who is this, Naruto? Your mother? Grandmother?"

A gentle hand came down on the top of her head. "Cheeky brats. I don't look that old, do I?" she all but growled, her voice at odds with the lightness of her physical gesture.

Sakura tilted her head, giving the woman her very best naive and innocent smile, which somehow lightened her heart. She felt like she'd had no cause to use it for a very long time. "Of course not, nee-san. But you do resemble Naruto," she explained. _More like Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu, but I'll really get hit if I tell her that. _

"Hey, that's unfair Sakura-chan," Naruto protested. "That's a henge, she's really—," the woman's hand was over Naruto's mouth before Sakura even saw the woman move.

"You haven't been sick, so I won't hold back when I punish you, you brat," she said, pulling hard at Naruto's cheeks while he protested.

Sakura laughed so hard that she was crying, then she was only crying. Naruto was the first to notice. He was at her bedside in an instant. "Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" he inquired worriedly.

"Nothing," she reassured him, reaching out with one hand to ruffle his hair fondly, the other wiping away the tears on her cheeks. "It just felt like a really long time since I'd laughed. Thanks, Naruto."

Not even the sky could compare to the blue of Naruto's eyes as they brightened, looking like she'd just announced his candidacy for Hokage. _I never realized how important we were to him, _she realized. _Who does Naruto have, besides us? _

"Naruto," Sakura said, hoping he wouldn't read too much into her question, "would you give me a hug?"

She was almost overwhelmed as his arms curled around her, eager but as gentle as Tsunade's hand had been. Sakura threaded her own arms around him, nestling her face in the junction of shoulder and throat. He smelled salty, faintly of ramen, but mostly of sunshine. Like this she could almost blink away those terrible memories of death. "This good, Sakura-chan?" he asked, his voice strangely rumbly when she was this close.

Sakura tightened her hold incrementally, her hands closing on the loose fabric of his jacket. "Yeah, this is good." It had never occurred to her to offer Naruto the simple physical interaction of a hug. It had always seemed sort of taboo, something to be done with the boy you liked, but no one else. Neither oka-san nor chichi-ue were physically demonstrative. The last time Sakura recalled being hugged by her parents was chichi-ue, when she'd been about five and she'd cut herself badly on something.

It was only when she caught Naruto's hands inched slowly downward that her reverie was broken. "Naruto," she accused in a low, dangerous voice and his hands froze. "Don't get the wrong idea," she hissed in his ear.

She softened her voice as she let him go, her conscience pricked as he flinched, like he expected to be hit. "So, learn any new jutsu while I was sleeping?"

Sakura knew it was the right thing to say when he brightened again, beaming. "Yeah, I learned a totally awesome new jutsu!" he bragged. "Sasuke can keep his stinking Chidori."

"Speaking of your teammate," the blonde woman said, hand on hip, "why don't you go check on him while I look over your teammate one more time?"

"Right," Naruto agreed, heading for the door. He ducked his head back inside when he reached the hall. "See ya, Sakura-chan!"

The busty blonde sighed and the slight, dark haired woman giggled. "You can proceed with your rounds," she told the nurse. "We've got things covered here."

The nurse nodded. "Get well soon, Haruno-san," she told Sakura. Bowing, she exited the room.

That left Sakura in the room with two strangers. Sakura made her gaze inquiring but not prying.

"That knuckle-head," the blonde was grumbling. "You're probably wondering who we are?"

Sakura nodded, half-thinking that she'd never had as much fun pretending to be shy and retiring as in this moment. "Well, you can call me Tsunade. I'm the new Hokage. This is my apprentice, Shizune."

Sakura knew she didn't control her brief flash of re-evaluation fast enough, because the woman smiled. "Looks like your brain's still at work in there. Couldn't be sure. After all, not many gennin with a working brain are stupid enough to challenge an S-ranked missing nin."

"I've learned my lesson, Hokage-sama," Sakura replied with conviction.

"Not Hokage. Tsunade. That's good, because you've baffled half the doctors in this hospital with how you survived this time. Between you and Naruto, you've probably used up three people's worth of luck."

_Not all luck, but a lot, _Sakura acknowledged. "How long?" she asked instead of voicing the thought. Tsunade-sama might ask her to explain.

"Were you in a coma? A month, just like your teammates."

Sakura's handled clenched, rumpling the hospital sheet. It was a long time.

"Would you like to try to stand? Your muscles shouldn't have atrophied too much, if the nurses are still half-competent. Ninja patient undergo a strict regime of physical therapy and chakra-cycling treatment if their coma is thought to be short -term." Her expression became grim. "It's the residual mentality of the wars-we couldn't afford recovery time when they woke up, so as soon as they regained consciousness, they were put back on active duty."

Sakura was only half-listening. She was only grateful that her hard-earned muscle and conditioning wasn't going to be totally lost. As she swung her legs over the side of the bed she noticed Shizune-san move to one side, ready to catch her.

Luckily it appeared that the nurse-patients were competent, because Sakura felt only a normal sort of strain on her muscles.

"Good," Tsunade-sama praised her. "Try walking."

Sakura obediently followed the new Hokage's instructions. "Is Kakashi-sensei okay?" she asked on her third crossing of the small room.

Tsunade-sama's sharp hazel eyes never left her movements. "Awake and disappeared."

Sakura nodded, not having expected anything less. "What about Sasuke? You told Naruto to go check on him. Was he injured?"

"I guess his check-in date was later than yours, but you were in here for the same thing. What are they teaching in the Academy nowadays?"

_Sasuke had confronted Itachi? _Sakura didn't know what to feel about that. She was certain now that it was Uchiha Itachi who'd inspired Sasuke's speech at their team introduction. But the Itachi she'd met was so strange, somehow, not that Sakura particularly knew many clan murderers.

"Haruno. Haruno!" Sakura snapped back into the present, realizing Tsunade-sama had been trying to talk to her. "I was asking if you thought you were up to seeing your teammate, but if you're having trouble focusing, we might need to do another brain scan."

"No, no, my attention just wandered, Tsunade-sama," Sakura rushed to reassure her. She didn't want to lose any more time to medical procedure.

"Well, then if you feel up to it, Sasuke is in room 307. Don't take your hospital identification off your wrist," she said sharply. "You're not being discharged. You'll have to stay for observation." She cut off Sakura's protest. "You teammate will have to stay too, so I'm not listening to any complaints."

Sakura swallowed down her words. It was easier to feign compliance and then make her escape. "Can I change into regular clothes, at least?" she asked. She'd apparently ruined another outfit and was outfitted in the standard pale blue hospital gown.

"Shizune, help her," Tsunade-sama ordered her assistant. "A man left clothes for you. Your father, I think."

Taking the shirt Shizune-san handed her, Sakura decided against asking how often people had visited her. It was sure to disappoint. And Tsunade-sama probably wouldn't even know something as pointless as who had visited one little gennin for the past month.

She saw a little of her chichi-ue's formal style choices in her new top, which she viewed with mixed feeling. Kimono style, it had deep sleeves that had been sewn into the traditional pockets, which made for convenient storage, but only a better kunoichi than her would be able to be as fast or effective with so much excess fabric. Sakura simply didn't have the practice for it.

But she put it on, because her chichi-ue had brought it. It was also a charcoal black, a shade off from true black that blended more effectively into shadows, and made of high grade silk. Sakura folded it over her chest bindings, raising her arms so Shizune could tie the obi for her. That was in the startling red of the Haruno clan.

Her fitted shorts were true black, but Tsunade refused to hand over her kunai holster, sandals, or her forehead protector. She held up the thin rectangle of metal on its band of blue cloth with a smug look on her face. "This way I know you'll come back," she said and Sakura scowled.

So Sakura found herself traversing the halls of the hospital armed with only her wits and taijutsu, which honestly were her strengths. But she couldn't abandon the symbol of her service to the village either, so Tsunade-sama had effectively halted her escape plans.

_Pity, _a voice said in her head. _The atmosphere here is stifling. _

Sakura stopped short. _Orochimaru? _she asked incredulously.

_I said I'd be here when you woke up, didn't I?_

_ I had hoped you were lying_, she admitted. 

_ If I had feelings, they'd have been hurt by that. _

_ Good. Go away. _

If Orochimaru had been about to make some response it was cut short as a dramatic voice rang out. "Ah, the flower of youth blooms anew!"

"Gai-sensei?" was the stupid response that tumbled from her mouth, sounding more like a question. "Are you here to visit Lee-san?" she asked to cover it.

For the first time since she'd become his sometimes-student, a look of real worry crossed his face. "You already know that the doctors thought that Lee would never be a ninja again, but with Tsunade back...," his voice trailed off for a moment. "There is a procedure, but it's risky. Lee still hasn't decided if he wants to undergo it or not."

"If there's anyone who deserves to be a ninja, it's Lee-san. Everything will go well," Sakura said firmly. "Heaven smiles down on those who try, right?"

She was alarmed when Gai-sensei began to tear up. "You're a testament to the resilience of youth!" he declared, clapping her on the shoulder so hard she was certain if her youth hadn't been so resistant he might have snapped her collarbone. "I shall convey your words of inspiration immediately to Lee!"

With that he took off down the hall. Shaking off the disorientation that always came with Gai-sensei's entrances and exits, Sakura continued down the hall. She found herself standing before Sasuke's door, but something made her hesitate. Biting her lip, she backtracked down the hall, going to the cafeteria. The food, what little she'd experience of it, was one step above the food they served to patients, which was one step above starvation, but they did have fresh fruit. Armed with two apples in a bowl and a sharp knife, which she'd noted critically was off balance, this time she slide Sasuke's door open with no hesitation.

Naruto was sitting on a chair beside Sasuke's bed, talking at him, but he immediately vacated his seat as soon as Sakura entered. Sasuke didn't even glance her way, which was a little extreme, even for Sasuke. When she sent a questioning look at Naruto, he shrugged helplessly. "He's been like that since he woke up."

His gaze was vacant, unfocused, she noticed as she drew closer. Claiming the chair and balancing her bowl of apples on her lap, she set to cutting them into cute little rabbit slices. That at least had a chance of inspiring Sasuke's disgust, if nothing else.

She offered the first slice to Naruto, who accepted it, then crouched down in front of her, watching as she deftly sliced the fruit. "So, what did you do while the rest of us were asleep?"

As he regaled her with tales of a pervy sage and his many and varied adventures with women of all shapes and sizes, Sakura watched Sasuke's expression from the corner of her eye.

"So she's really in her fifties?" Sakura asked with interest.

"Yeah, so she's really Tsunade-baa-chan, but man does she pack a punch..." and he was off again. Sakura kept feeding him questions and rabbit-shaped apple slices, genuinely interested, but also waiting for Sasuke to do something besides look like an attractive doll.

_Though that offers its own possibilities..._

_ Shut up, Orochimaru, you pervert. _

_ Remember, I'm only the voice of _your _subconscious desires. _

_Go die in a hole. _

She ignored him faithfully after that. When she finished cutting the apples, with about half an apple left between Naruto's snacking and her own, she offered the bowl to Sasuke.

He made no response, which of course made Naruto mad and being Naruto he got up in his face, and before she knew what had happened the dish was broken on the floor and the apples crushed beneath Sasuke's angry, stomping gait.

Naruto looked at her briefly, but then he followed Sasuke out the door. Sakura folded her hands in her lap automatically and her face took on the pleasant and placid expression that'd she'd used in those few interviews with her grandfather that had went well.

_What the hell was that?_ she shrieked inside her head. _Am I invisible or something? What does he think he's going to prove?_

_ That his mother and father found him on their doorstep, because he is obviously not related to his brother? _Orochimaru suggested.

"That is it," Sakura hissed, striding over to the window and throwing it open. "There are those who take the stairs and then there are those who go out the window and remember for twenty seconds they are Konoha ninja on a team, not the enemy."

She was delayed for a moment when she reached for her chakra to manipulate it. If anything, she expected this to be difficult, her chakra weakened or damaged. But instead she found her chakra reserves far, far deeper than even when she'd been at the peak of her training.

Orochimaru took it on himself to explain, apparently eager for the coming confrontation. _Chakra, both your application of it and your reserves, can be improved by physical _and_ spiritual exercise. Ninja tend to get caught up in the physical training and forget the spiritual, but a man who meditates his entire life and never lifts his hand against an enemy can have a chakra reserve equal to or greater than a jounin. The difference is in control and application. You've maintained a genjutsu that engaged all five senses and manipulated space continuously for nearly a month. Since you didn't die of it, of course you'd improve. _

_Good to know, _Sakura said, swinging out the window and sticking her feet to the wall. It took her only seconds to sprint up the building, but when she reached the top Naruto and Sasuke were already at it. As Sasuke scorched the rooftop with no regard to either safety, building integrity, or property damage, she leaped over the chain-link fence.

Striding across the roof, the possible insults she could scream at them running through her head, she was surprised was a hand descended on her shoulder. Flicking an irritated glace at the person who'd halted something so obviously important, she realized it was Kakashi-sensei.

He opened his mouth to say something pacifying and wise, but she cut him off. "If you were here, why didn't you _stop them?_" she hissed.

He tried to make some response, but Sakura had just spent the last month literally torturing herself in her mind. She was as apt shift moods as May weather. She'd played naive, friendly, and normal. It had worked-right up until the point everyone else had lost what little minds they'd had. "If you won't do it, I will."

"Sakura, don't interfere. You'll get hurt," Kakashi-sensei cautioned her. "They need to come to an understanding between themselves."

Sakura had thought she had it under control. Amanozako was in a cage, locked deep inside her mind. But when she felt the sudden flare of killing intent rising, she only just managed to smother it before Kakashi-sensei would have sensed it. Sakura knew it was unsafe to attack either of her teammates when she was this unstable. She'd almost really hurt Sasuke once and she'd hated herself for it.

But if she didn't interfere, could she really live with that?

"No taijutsu," she muttered to herself. But without taijutsu, what did she have. Genjutsu? She'd been in four in her life, if she excluded the strange ones that Orochimaru had used. Two she'd missed the handsigns for. One was the result of a doujutsu. The only one she'd seen used had been Kurenai-sensei's. But she'd only seen them once.

She recalled something she'd been taught in kunoichi class, when the instructor had lectured about information gathering. _Everything you see and hear is stored in your subconscious. In order to prevent being overwhelmed by sensory information, your brain automatically filters what you can and cannot remember. _It had been followed by a long speech about using sensory links, like smell, to promote memory retrieval, but none of that was important.

Sakura had one advantage over the sane people-she could consciously access her subconscious.

_ Alright, voice of subconscious desires, what were the handsigns that Kurenai-sensei used to activate her genjutsu? _

_ You're assuming that the genjutsu she used to become invisible and the one she used to make the tree grab Itachi-kun were the same. And are you certain it will work? Sasuke-kun has his Sharingan activated now. _

_ He isn't his brother, _Sakura growled impatiently. _The handsigns!_

In her mind's eye, images flashed that she mirrored awkwardly. She came to the end of the sequence, but nothing happened. _Wrong balance of chakra, _she cursed. It was what, in part, made the Sharingan so formidable. Handsigns were the lesser half of the equation. Knowing what type and how much chakra was needed for a technique would take time she didn't have to reconstruct. But lacking any other idea, she ran it through twice more, trying out different combinations that seemed likely.

Once Kakashi was certain Sakura wasn't going to do something reckless, like try to step between the warring gennin, he watched the match between them. A certain amount of competition was necessary for growth and he hoped that Sasuke would take from this match a new appreciation of his teammate's strength.

It was only when he noticed that Sakura was muttering the names of handsigns under her breath that he looked down at his third student. Her stance solid, she was staring straight at the boys, but her hands were running through disturbingly familiar handsigns with the ease and speed of familiarity. His one visible eye widened when he recognized it as one of Kurenai's genjutsus-the one, in fact, that had won her an advance to jounin rank.

Just as her image began to waver he reached down, stopping her hand movement, sending a jolt of his chakra to interrupt the jutsu. She turned her head slowly, usually wide jade eyes narrow, and he opened his mouth to say something to her, but then he heard the distinctive chirping of his signature move.

When he turned to look and saw that not only was Sasuke preparing to use what was supposed to be an assassination move on an ally, Jiraiya had taught Naruto the Rasengan of all things, his one thought was _they've all gone mad. _

A/N: Don't worry, this isn't another dip into the Sakura becomes a MarySue—this is just Sakura going off the deep end, which means she's going to try crazy things that normally wouldn't occur to her, like trying to recreate a jutsu she's seen only once.


	9. Once Upon A Team REDUX

Disclaimer:Oh, what I would do if I owned Naruto….Okay, mostly I would make it so there are actually heroines in the series, not just female love interests, but what can you do? Write fanfiction, of course.

A/N:It's harder to write crazy-Sakura than I remembered.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Nine-

Once Upon a Team

Sakura had been discharged from the hospital again. Mostly because after the third time she'd snuck out to seek information on genjutsu in the scroll archives, she'd been caught and Tsunade-sama had given up and told her it would be he own fault if she relapsed. Hospital protocol was by definition flexible when it came to ninja patients. Kakashi-sensei was an excellent example.

Now that Suzuki-san was once again willing to help her, she'd begun to make a little progress. The scarred jounin had insisted she get a good grounding on the theory before she learned any actual jutsus, so she was dutifully plowing through scrolls on the psychological trauma that made the school of ninja arts valuable and what areas of the brain were affected by the jutsus in order to create convincing illusions. Nothing she'd read even approached the level of Tsukuyomi or its backlash genjutsu when she'd broke it.

After their rooftop brawl, Sakura had been so angry at her teammates she'd secluded herself from all of them, including Kakashi-sensei. It wasn't that she didn't want to them all to work through their issues, but she needed to make certain she could work with them, which meant making sure Amanozako was well and truly caged.

Though she was on her way to practice, she wasn't sure her meditation and repetition of her katas until she'd been ready to drop from exhaustion had worked. She'd happened to see Chouji in passing and had cried for a half-hour hidden between someone's azaleas and their privacy fence. She'd been so upset she'd come back home and stared at the mirror above the sink, determined that no one would know she had been crying. She owed her own pride and Inner-Sakura that much.

_I'm twenty minutes late now, _Sakura chided herself as she leaped from rooftop to rooftop, trying to make up for lost time. _What do you say when your teammates do something like that?_

_ What did Sasuke tell you when you tried to kill him? _Orochimaru asked, his tone bored with the subject before they'd begun.

_ I never tried to kill Sasuke! _Sakura protested.

_That's not what your memories say. If your blow had landed, it could have killed him. _

_ That was different._

_ How so?_

_ ...I didn't mean it. And Sasuke didn't know._

_ The latter is a pity, but do you think your teammates truly wanted to kill one another? _

Because she'd reached the edge of the houses, where Konoha proper faded into the training grounds and surrounding forests, Sakura stopped. "No," she said aloud, but her voice trembled. "But why would they want to do something like that?"

She'd thought, briefly, that she was getting a better handle on her teammates, but this reaction had only proven she hadn't even begun to understand them. Was that even possible, really, understanding someone else? Sakura didn't even understand herself. She was tempted to stomp her feet like a child in frustration, but instead she leaped from the house, making for the training grounds.

Not everything was anger and dark clouds in her life after all. She'd finally bought new weights, identical twins to the ones she'd lost in her confrontation with Gaara. She was still wearing the kimono-cut top, though. High-quality silk was not only light, but provided some protection from projectiles in that instead of breaking the threads, they tended to enter the body still wrapped in the silk, which was also helpful in the case of poisoned weapons.

_You're reaching, _Orochimaru informed her sulkily. Sakura had mostly worried about Amanozako, but Orochimaru had become so restless since she'd isolated herself that even his normal malicious humor had faded. She was worried it might be he who lashed out.

_But if I'm always afraid, if I never face them for fear of hurting them, we'll never get anywhere, _Sakura decided, gathering up her courage and leaping through the trees toward the red bridge that Team Seven had claimed as their own. _Because what I feel for my team is stronger than any monster_, she reassured herself. An ugly chuckle told her someone in her head disagreed. 

She landed balanced on the railing of the bridge moments later, startling Naruto, who almost fell into the stream. Sakura stood well out of reach of his flailing arms as he regained his balance. She giggled because Naruto actually had decent detection skills, mostly oriented towards an almost animalistic sense of impending danger, when he wasn't glaring at Sasuke. Which was most of the time, so it almost invalidated his skill. Sakura sighed.

"Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed. "You're late!"

"Well, I had to learn something from sensei," she teased as she leaped down.

"No," Naruto wailed comically, "don't you start too," he said, pointing an accusing finger at her. "You wouldn't really leave me alone with the bastard, would you?"

Sasuke made some dismissive noise from where he was standing near the other end of the bridge.

"I don't know," Sakura said sternly, one hand fisted on her hip, "you aren't going to pull another stupid stunt like at the hospital, are you?"

"That was Sasuke's fault!" Naruto protested.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "It didn't look like Sasuke was fighting with himself on that roof."

"But Sakura-chan…," Naruto whined.

"Don't think I can't tell you're smirking behind my back, Sasuke," Sakura said, turning on her heel to face her other teammate. "And what were you thinking? You're the one who's always calling Naruto an idiot, but I think you were competing for the title."

For a moment pure surprise ran across his features before he managed to resume his stoic expression. "Keep out of what you don't understand, Sakura," he finally said.

Sakura's jaw clenched as she bit down on her tongue to stop herself from saying anything. Without Inner-Sakura to help with her impulse control issues, which she hadn't even realized she'd had until she caught herself snarling under her breath when someone had bumped into her as she was leaving the hospital, she was re-learning how to filter. It meant all her expressions were more open and angry than usual, but she was slowly bringing them back under control.

Orochimaru was…helping, which was painful to admit. 

_But Sasuke's still a jerk, _she decided. _A pretty jerk, but still a jerk. Why does he get to be prettier than me? _

_ I was under the impression you were supposed to suffer from dissociative identity disorder, not bipolarity.. Though I must say, it is of interest to me how peculiarly your mind is constructed. It is almost the only thing of interest in this place. Perhaps something went very wrong in your childhood. _She was about to screech an angry reply in her mind when Orochimaru reminded her, _Focus. _

Sasuke had apparently lost interest in their conversation as he was leaning against the railing, head tilted down, arms folded across his chest. Sakura glanced over her shoulder to find Naruto wouldn't make eye contact with her.

_Well, isn't this just great, _she commented to Orochimaru.

_Optimism, Sakura-chan, _he chided._ You were late, so you can anticipate only another two hours and forty minutes of waiting for Kakashi to arrive, then he will delegate you to some useless spar with him that he'll barely pay attention to as he focuses on reading his book and training the boys. Aren't you looking forward to working with your team again, Sakura-chan? There are far more valuable and interesting ways to waste your time. I will show them to you, if you wish. _

Sakura scowled, rubbing irritably at her temples. Her bangs had grown out, still ragged with their uneven cut because she'd forgotten again to trim them. She no longer minded the length, but she thought she should at least do something about the battlefield couture look she'd been sporting the last several months.

_I should go get my hair cut, _Sakura thought. _At least it would be a productive use of the 'waiting for Kakashi-sensei' time, since it doesn't look like anyone's going to make nice today. _

_ What happened to "What I feel for my teammates is more powerful than any monster?" Or is that feeling not powerful enough to trump your consideration for your hair?_

_ No, _Sakura snarled at him. _But...why is it me who has to try? Why is it only me? _

_ Because that is your role. Passivity, conciliation, mediation. That is the role of the kunoichi. You are neither yin nor yang, but the line that divides them. Choose, Sakura-chan, _he urged, _your pride, your power, your progress or your team. _His voice hit the first three hard, drawing out the sounds, but team was said in a dismissive, scornful way.

_It doesn't only have to be one or the other, _Sakura said. _I can still have team without the loss of self. _

_ Can you really? Can you have cohesion without something to bind? You're not tied by bonds of blood or clan, mutual obligation, and only barely connected through friendship. Admit it Sakura-chan, _his low voice close to her ear, _your desire is to prove your own power, not simply to enhance that of your teammates. _Something warm and wet felt like it brushed the shell of her ear and she struggled not to react.

_Your desire is for something this can never give you, will never offer you. _

She managed to control the shiver that danced the length of her spine. _And what is my desire?_

_ Still asking silly questions, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru teased. She could almost sense him as a physical presence at her back. _What you want is to no longer be the third member of Team Seven._

_ So, what? I want to be the first member?_

A chuckle. _You want to be Sharingan Eater Sakura, a shinobi with a name, one that has her own entry in foreign nin's bingo books instead of being listed as a teammate in the entries of others. _

_That's still something I could do with a team. _

_ Could you? Would you really? Would they really let you? I think not, Sakura-chan. This team will only get in your way. _

_ Next you'll tell me to discard my village, _Sakura's mental voice shook slightly.

_Didn't I teach you about unnecessary sacrifice when we played the game? The village is your object, your everything. It is what everything else is sacrificed for, not the piece you discard. Keep Konoha and take everything it will give you. And when Sasuke-kun leaves, then the real game will begin. And won't it be a delight?_

The distinctive cloud of smoke that heralded Kakashi-senpai's arrival took her by surprise.

Sakura was sure she was gaping and she knew Naruto was. "You're early," Sakura said, dumbstruck.

"You're still late!" Naruto bellowed, quickly overcoming his surprise.

Instead of making his usual implausible excuse he simply looked down on them from his usual perch above their heads. Even though it was only Kakashi-sensei, Sakura's body instinctively dropped into her opening stance for Shifting Sands. The early familiarity of their sensei's appearence was replaced by a tense anticipation that was shared by the boys. "I told you that those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. What does that make teammates that turn on each other?" he challenged them, his voice not at all like their usual apathetic teacher. There was an intensity to it that even outmatched when he'd been speaking to Zabuza.

Sakura swallowed nervously. She'd never seen Kakashi-sensei this mad at them before.

"I've spoken to all of you and yet you're still acting like this. I'm disappointed." He disappeared from his perch on the arch, reappearing behind them on the bridge. "There won't be training today. You'll be doing a teambuilding exercise. You don't get to go home until you finish it. Do you understand?"

As the team warily gave their agreement, suddenly the oppressive aura around Kakashi-sensei lifted. "That's good," he congratulated them, his visible eye crinkling up in a smile. "So, do you want to know what you're going to be doing today?"

Sakura warily let herself relax as Naruto, never deterred for long, demanded that Kakashi-sensei tell them.

"It shouldn't take you long," Kakashi-sensei told them, "not for three talented, _cooperative_ ninja like you three."  
"I don't know about the cooperative, but you've got the talented right," Naruto boasted. "Believe it! Sakura-chan," he said, turning to her, "do you want to go out to get ramen with me after we beat Kakashi-sensei's test?"

Sakura wondered if the other gennin teams experienced this, like they were pieces from different puzzles, their shape, cut, and size making it impossible for them to fit together. They'd been able to work before, when she hadn't been a piece in her own right, when she'd been the connecter, just like Orochimaru had said. But somewhere in the more than two months since they'd last been asked to function as a team, Sakura had become a piece, just as awkward and unwieldy as the others.

So she couldn't dismiss Naruto rudely and then turn to ask her precious Sasuke-kun if he wanted to go out to eat with her.

"Sorry, Naruto," she apologized softly, suddenly not angry with them anymore, "but I don't think we're going to pass Kakashi-sensei's test that quickly."

"Don't you believe in me Sakura-chan?" Naruto pouted, probably doing it under the same misapprehension that had prompted most of her actions toward Sasuke—that they made her look cute.

"I believe in _you, _Naruto, but I'm not so sure about the _us_," Sakura admitted.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "Didn't you want to know what your exercise was?"

When he saw he had the attention of the two gennin, he explained their task. It was an exercise in sensory deprivation, something usually taught at a much higher level or not at all, typically utilized in individual combat training. As an exercise in teamwork, it was like the bell test. The objective wasn't truly to get the bells, but to get them to work together.

The same idea applied to the new training. Kakashi-sensei would hide somewhere in the forest, likely reading his _Icha Icha_, while the group tried to find him. This game of hide-and-seek would be made difficult by their dependence on one another. They would, for safety's sake, be left with their sense of touch, but the other four senses would be distributed between them. For Naruto, who often depended on his instinct, he would today be their eyes. Sasuke, who relied on his bloodline, would have only smell and taste to go by. Sakura was allowed to keep her hearing.

Doling out blindfolds, earplugs, and the cloth masks that were actually meant to filter poisons from the air, Kakashi-sensei smiled at them again. "So, any questions?"

Sasuke was glaring down at the blindfold in his hand, but he muttered, "Let's just get this over with." 

Sakura scowled but dutifully pulled the mask on, noting that it looked rather like the one Kakashi-sensei wore, then tied the wide black blindfold around her head. Being "blind" was a peculiar experience, one that put a sort of distance between herself and the world. Like if she couldn't experience it through all her senses at once, it became less real. It didn't help that her sense of smell and taste had been cut off as well.

She focused on what she could hear, reorienting herself that way, like she was still feigning sleep in the hospital. Sakura could hear Naruto, the heavier fabric of his jacket louder than the fabric of the forest green bodysuit that Sasuke was still wearing. That, and Naruto kept talking, so it was easy to locate him. Kakashi-sensei didn't make sounds, per se, but Sakura could still sense his presence, which he seemed to be making no attempt to hide.

"Well, now that you're all prepared, feel free to follow me in about four minutes. Good luck!" With that his presence retreated, but Sakura noticed he was using his speed rather than a teleportation jutsu.

Sakura let the four minutes slip by as she ran through a very simple kata, readjusting to her new inability to see. She knew it was possible, of course, to be almost totally unhindered by a handicap this simple, as Gai-sensei had proven to her, but she'd never tried it herself.

The first obstacle to their tracking became immediately apparent. Naruto, who could still see, apparently couldn't read lips, especially through the fabric of her cloth mask, and Sasuke was isolated by being both unable to see and hear, though he'd been fine as they left the bridge, following the vibrations of Naruto's heavy footsteps as he stomped off into the forest. However, once they hit grassy ground Sakura had immediately noticed his frustration and confusion.

She could hear as he stumbled over the first roots as they hit the tree line.

_Don't you want to hold his hand, Sakura-chan?_ Orochimaru teased. His humor then took a dark turn. _Or would you prefer to watch him stumble through the forest deprived of his senses and helpless? Wouldn't you _adore _that Sasuke-kun? Imagine the satisfaction, seeing him as his pride is stripped away and he is made utterly dependant on others. A pawn, a plaything, nothing more. His pretty, pretty eyes made useless. _

_ Be silent, you snake. _

Worrying her bottom lip nervously, Sakura reached out, catching at Sasuke's sleeve. He stopped, turning toward her and Sakura heard Naruto come to a stop up ahead, presumably looking back to see what was keeping them. Sakura felt very shy, all of a sudden. Even though a lot of her feelings for Sasuke were only habit from the time she'd been trying so desperately to fit in, the part that wasn't hadn't simply disappeared. It had faded, almost, like it wasn't as important as her training, but it was still there. And relying solely on hearing and tactile information felt very intimate.

Sakura was certain the tips of her ears were bright red, but she controlled the rest of her blush. She would _not_ slip back into being just Sasuke's fangirl. Which meant she closed the distance between them enough that she was certain Sasuke could sense she was there, then reached her hand out toward Naruto.

"Take it," she said, knowing he couldn't hear her but trusting his ability to read body language. When Naruto's warm hand clasped hers, she smiled. She squeezed his hand, then tilted her head to indicate he should lead for now. He'd been the only one to see Kakashi-sensei leaving. Naruto squeezed back, leading off.

Sakura was trusting Sasuke to follow, keeping them close enough for him to sense them without touching. So she was surprised when, just as she stepped away, Sasuke's hand caught at hers. A hidden smile bloomed behind her mask. She could just imagine Sasuke's scowl as he was reduced to dependence on his teammates. It was _not _the ugly kind of satisfaction that Orochimaru talked about. When she heard Naruto laugh it didn't take a leap of faith to tell that was exactly what had happened.

"Geez, you'd think someone had asked him to gnaw his hand off, the way he's looking," Naruto confided in the loud whisper that carried even better than his normal voice. "Kakashi-sensei kept to the ground, headed northwest," he told her. "Let's go."

Naruto led, warning Sakura of roots and Sakura in turn warned Sasuke, eventually working out a system of pressure on his hand to tell him where the obstacles were. Naruto resisted the urge to lead them into trees, though Sakura suspected it was close thing a time or two for Sasuke. Her awareness of her surrounding was only increasing as Naruto followed the overlapping, meandering route laid out by Kakashi-sensei.

Squeezing high on his hand to warn Sasuke of a big rock coming up on his left, he stepped even closer to her to avoid hitting it. _Look at how responsive he is when blindfolded. This had potential, don't you think Sakura-chan? _Orochimaru commented.

_Shut up,_ she returned sourly.

_Why? Don't you prefer me perverse rather than power-hungry?_ he taunted.

_I'm sure you're capable of being both, _Sakura said dryly.

That drew a low chuckle from Orochimaru. _See, you are coming to know yourself, Sakura-chan. Now I only have to teach you to enjoy it. _

Sakura sighed internally, then slowed her pace as she felt a change in their surroundings. The air was heavier, almost dripping water, and sound had suddenly become muffled. _A jutsu? It wouldn't make any sense for there to be a natural fog here. _

When she heard Naruto's curse, it confirmed her suspicion. "I can't see anything, Sakura-chan. Can you hear anything?"

Sakura focused, listening for any telltale sounds that would tell her Kakashi-sensei was nearby, but all she heard were confused cries from wildlife that had been caught in the jutsu. She shook her head. "This is about teamwork," she said aloud, even though she knew they couldn't hear her, "so of course it makes sense that Kakashi-sensei would want to test all of us."

Turning her head to Sasuke, her brow furrowed. Scent-tracking was a very specialized skill and only a really well rounded repertoire of pursuit jutsu would include any techniques to make it easier. Sakura idly added the idea to her growing list of jutsu that needed to be investigated when she had time. But worrying about the actual technique came second to communicating to Sasuke their need for him to lead.

As she was thinking, Naruto shifting restlessly next to her, Sakura noticed something. Behind her blindfold her jade eyes narrowed. It was Kakashi-sensei. He hadn't bothered to hide either his chakra or presence. Turning her head to where she suspected he was perched just above them, his presence retreated immediately.

On her right Naruto tugged on her hand. "Hey, hey, Sakura-chan, how we going to do this?" he asked her.

A wave of resentment hit her suddenly. _If it weren't for the two of them, you could pursue Kakashi yourself, _Orochimaru pointed out slyly. _While you've never worked blindfolded, you can still sense him. By the time he bothers to conceal his presence, you'll be able to hear him. You teammates are only holding you back, Sakura-chan. Think about it. If it wasn't for them, you would have tried to sense him from the first. You don't need them the way they need you. _

_ Arrogant much? _Sakura snarled. _Kakashi-sensei is a jounin-sensei, emphasis on the jounin. If I get too close, he'll be able to hide from me, no problem. This is an exercise in teamwork, one I'll complete _with _my team. _

_ I wonder how long you'll feel that way Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru remarked as he faded back into her mind. For a moment, it had been almost like he'd been standing just behind her, whispering into her ear.

Sakura shook off the eerie feeling the conversation had given her, especially the sudden and unexpected resentment that had prompted it. Sliding her hand out of Naruto's, she pointed at Sasuke, indicating that they needed him to take the lead for this leg of their challenge. She felt his understanding, so she removed her hand from Sasuke's loose grip. Just as easily she felt the confusion that entered his body language, but Sakura handed over the lead in the only way she could think to do it.

She stepped behind Sasuke, giving him a slight push forward, hoping he'd take the hint. And have some idea about scent-tracking, because this communicating without sight or hearing was difficult enough in a simple task like changing who was on point. Sakura had no personal experience with the jutsu and she wasn't certain if Naruto's slight abilities in that direction were learned or natural.

Luckily he took both the hint and the lead, Sakura and Naruto flanking him, but it appeared that Sasuke too was learning a little about navigating in his sensory-deprived state. It was limited to avoiding strong smelling wildflowers and weeds on his own, but progress was progress. Eventually they came out the other side of the fogbank, which Naruto informed her faded behind them.

_That's Naruto and Sasuke down. Now it's my turn, _Sakura thought in satisfaction.

_If Kaskashi gives you a proper challenge, _Orochimaru reminded her snidely.

Sakura's jaw clenched. She still hadn't told Kakashi-sensei about her extra training, but as she'd told Orochimaru, he was a jounin-sensei. It was his job to "look underneath the underneath" and her battle with the Oto-nin at the Chunnin exams hadn't exactly subtle. His approach to her training hadn't changed and he'd never asked if she'd had someone else train her. _But that's because I can't seem to stay out of the hospital, _Sakura reminded them both. _Surely, now, I'll be worth his time. _

Sakura stood very still, quieting her breath until she could barely hear herself, then extended the sense she'd been assigned for the training exercise. Now that she'd recognized Kakashi-sensei's presence her mind had automatically tracked it as he moved. But chakra-sensing and presence-recognition weren't exactly gennin level skills, so she doubted he even realized how easy it would be for her to use that to locate him. _All that time in the hospital was good for something, I guess, _she admitted begrudgingly.

But she could also _hear_ him now, though she rolled her eyes when she heard that strange giggle that indicated he'd come to an especially good part of his book. "This way," she said, her words falling upon the deaf ears of her teammates, moving between her teammates again and leading from the center. She was certain enough of her surroundings that she risked a light jog, but that was nixed when Sasuke stumbled.

Slowing again, she kept their pace at a leisurely stroll until they stood beneath the tree where Kakashi-sensei's presence sat, but in her mind's eye she could see him sitting on a branch, back against the trunk, reading his orange-backed novel.

"Found you, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto declared at her side, pointing so dramatically she actually heard the _whoosh_ of air as his arm moved.

"Congratulations," Kakashi-sensei said in a very dry voice. "And it only took you a little over two hours. I'm impressed."

"Can we take this stuff off now?" Naruto asked, obviously still wearing the ear plugs, because his voice was a lot louder than normal. "I can't even hear what _I'm _saying, let alone what _you're _saying."

"Trust me, Naruto," Sakura heard Kakashi-sensei mutter, "everyone in the village and Suna can probably hear you."

"Go ahead and take them off," he said in his normal voice, leaping down from the tree to land before them. Sakura peeled her mask off first to enjoy the scent of the forest, loam and sunlight, then untied her blindfold. Blinded, she waited patiently for her eyes to readjust.

"At last!" Naruto declared. "That was a really annoying exercise, Kakashi-sensei."

"Hn," Sasuke agreed from Sakura's left, having removed his own gear.

Kakashi's brow raised. "And what about you, Sakura? Did you think it was annoying?"

"Sometimes," she admitted, then hesitated. Making her decision, she blurted out, "Do you think you could teach me to fight blindfolded, Kakashi-sensei?"

Both Sasuke and Naruto shot her strange looks. "Why would you even want to do that?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sakura ran a nervous hand through her rough bangs. "Well, I don't really have any cool ninjutsu like Rasengan or Chidori, or your chakra reserves, Naruto, so I kind of need all the help I can get," she admitted with a painful smile.

"But I'll protect you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said guilelessly.

Sakura's hand froze in her hair. "No, Naruto," she said in a dark, calm voice. "Remember what I said before, about watching my back? That still applies. If you're always protecting me, then I won't ever learn to do anything for myself. I'm not a princess, Naruto. I'm a _shinobi_."

"Very moving," Kakashi-sensei commented in the silence that followed her announcement. "We'll see about that training, Sakura, but for now, I'm leaving. Behave. Training starts at eight tomorrow." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

A fond, slightly exasperated sigh escaped her. Gai-sensei's practice had always started well before dawn. Kakashi-sensei wouldn't even arrive until around noon.

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice surprised her and she jumped. He rolled his dark eyes. "Were you serious about what you said?"

Sakura stopped playing with her bangs. "Yes," she answered him softly, but her voice was firm. Then a cocky, uncharacteristic grin crossed her face. "Sorry Sasuke," she declared, "but I've found someone I like more than you. Konohagakure."

At his stunned face and Naruto's jubilant whoop, Sakura felt a sense of contentment. Team Seven was back. 


	10. Calm Before the Storm Part I REDUX

Disclaimer: (Sigh…) No, don't own and never will. Unfortunately Neji isn't mine either. Now try and tell me that isn't sad.

A/N: And we finally come to the Sakura and Neji chapters. Someone in one of their reviews made a very valid point when they said that Sakura was extremely isolated in cannon. Despite having been in the village an extra three years during the timeskip, her relationship with the rest of the Konoha 12 seemed to have been flash frozen at the point Naruto left. So I am fixing what I consider a significant oversight. You know, besides the one where Sakura seemed to have only transformed from an Ino-clone to a Tsunade-clone, complete with skillset.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Ten-

Calm Before the Storm: Part I

Sakura yawned. She'd risen at six, which seemed a luxury after Gai-sensei, and gone through her usual stamina training and katas. After a shower, she'd still had plenty of time to look over a new scroll she'd brought back from the scroll archives on the recommendation of Suzuki-san. He'd gruffly pointed out that if she was intending stealth to be a significant part of her skillset she'd need better concealment jutsus. He'd apparently heard of her failed attempt at ambushing Uchiha Itachi, though he'd said nothing about it.

A vague idea of the final product was beginning to form in her mind as Sakura slowly advanced in her independent training. It'd be nice to be a head-on, full combat brawler like Naruto or Sasuke, but Sakura had to acknowledge they had advantages she'd never have, no matter how much she trained. So she was compensating by finding disciplines she had a natural advantage at, instead of only half-mastering Sasuke or Naruto's approaches.

But that wasn't why she was yawning. Today's practice and D-class mission had been short and easy, Kakashi-sensei dismissing them for lunch with orders to return in two hours. So now she found herself on a stool at Ichiraku's, waiting for her ramen to be ready, sluggish and relaxed in the warm morning that seemed to be shaping up to be a hot afternoon.

At her side Naruto seemed to be having some internal celebration that he'd gotten both his teammates to accompany him, a bubbly smile lighting up his face. Even Sasuke seemed amused, in that barely-there way of his.

"So, what do you think?" Naruto prompted. "Kakashi-sensei was sounding all mysterious about what we were doing after lunch, so I bet it's another mission."

"Two missions in one day?" Sakura asked skeptically. "I know they're D-class, but Kakashi-sensei doesn't like doing them. He has to pay more attention to us to make sure we don't upset the customers."

Of all the Rookie 9, Team Seven was by far the most infamous, not only for their members but also for the propensity of their missions to get out of hand. And if they avoided that pitfall, either Naruto's frustration with the easy missions, which translated to a brash thoughtlessness in his speech or Sasuke's near rude silence was enough to set off the more touchy customers. Especially the civilian ones that weren't afraid or aware of the rumors and circumstances surrounding them both. Kakashi-sensei usually pulled the boys to the back and let Sakura speak during their normal missions.

Sasuke nodded. "We'll probably be sparring," he agreed.

"But Sasuke," Naruto whined, drawing out Sasuke's name, "that's boring."

"Just because you never win doesn't mean it's boring," Sasuke taunted, not looking at the blonde ninja as he accepted a steaming bowl of ramen.

Naruto was about two seconds from using the restaurant's chopsticks as makeshift senbon when Sakura gave him a repressive glare. "Not. In. Public," she hissed and Naruto, looking like a scolded puppy, reluctantly set down his weapons. He brightened as a steaming bowl of ramen was placed before him by the owner, who was chuckling at the interaction of the young ninja.

Sakura shook her head, but she was happy that they were able to interact so normally again. _We've been given a chance. I'm going to make the most of it. _

She was breaking apart the cheap chopsticks and anticipating her treat when a familiar presence suddenly came up from behind and latched onto Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun!" Ino greeted cheerfully as she glomped him.

Sasuke went very still, but he turned accusing eyes to Sakura that seemed to say, "She's _your_ friend."

Sakura raised one pink brow. _And what do you want me to do about her? _

Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed. "Do something, now," was the message they conveyed. A choked laugh from Sakura's other side said that Naruto had seen the look. A part of Sakura leaped in hope, because only weeks ago Sasuke would have stiffly ignored Ino's gratuitous affection, without asking even silently for help from his teammates despite his discomfort.

Sakura sighed. "It's so sad that you have to throw yourself at men like that, Ino-pig," she teased, knowing the slur would grab Ino's attention. She grinned when mock-outraged seafoam eyes met her own. "But I suppose that's the only way you can keep them from running from that terrible personality of yours."

It had always been Ino's weak point. Ino had always been supremely confident about her body, but thanks to growing up with Shikamaru and Chouji she had worried about her _unladylike _personality. It only came up when it came to Sasuke—otherwise Ino was the most confident person Sakura knew. And the best kunoichi, though Sakura would never admit it to her.

"Billboard-brow, this means war," Ino threatened, tightening her hold around Sasuke's neck.

"Don't start a fight you can't finish," Sakura taunted.

With a playful battle cry that assured her the other girl wasn't taking their fight seriously, Ino attempted to tackle Sakura off her stool. Slipping her feet inside the rungs, Sakura bent backwards, her back arching into almost a perfect half moon and Ino's clumsy clothesline swept over her with room to spare. Ino's momentum sent her a few stumbling steps further and by the time she'd turned around, Sakura was grinning at her, bowl of ramen cradled in one hand. "Gosh, Ino-chan," Sakura said, interjecting her best vapid innocence into the words, "I didn't mean for you to miss. You're just so slow."

"Keh," Ino snorted. "You think I missed? I _let _you avoid me." She put her hands on purple-clad hips, her stance challenging.

_You didn't let me do anything, you arrogant half-rate kunoichi_. The knee-jerk resentment passed as quickly as it had come, but it still worried Sakura. She didn't want to feel that way about Ino—normally she would never think that, not about any of her friends. But it was like sometimes Amanozako leaked into her own personality. Like Inner-Sakura. Only not so pleasant or welcome.

_If she is no longer useful to you, discard her,_ Orochimaru whispered. _Relationships empty of gain will only hold you back, Sakura-chan. Pawns are imminently replaceable._

_Then it's a good thing I don't have any relationships like that, _she hissed at him.

"Whatever, I-no," Sakura said aloud, hitting the syllables hard, turning her name into its own insult. "But you might want to have Asuma-sensei check into that being delusional. Can't be good for your team."

Said team finally caught up to Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged their own greetings with Team Seven. Sakura barely managed to repress the reflexive flinch that came whenever she caught sight of the latter genin. He'd been the first piece she'd lost.

Looking between the two kunoichi, Shikamaru observed, "You've been doing something troublesome again, haven't you?"

Ino turned on him. "Why do you assume it was me?" she shrieked at him.

He sighed, digging in his ear like she'd damaged his hearing. "Because it's always you."

"It is not!" Ino protested.

If she wanted Shikamaru to begin an argument with her, she was out of luck, because he simply sighed again. "Troublesome. Are you finished training for the day?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, Kakashi-sensei wants us to meet up again after lunch for a mission." His teammates rolled their eyes in concert. "How 'bout you?"

"No mission, but Asuma-sensei wants us to meet after lunch," Shikamaru said.

"We need to get going," Chouji reminded his teammates. "We only have an hour. Have a good lunch," he told Team Seven by way of goodbye.

This time it was Ino's turn to roll her eyes. "Which really isn't enough time for barbeque with you, huh? See you guys later," she said, waving as she turned to follow him.

"Later," Shikamaru said lazily, putting his hands back in his pockets as he strolled after them.

"See ya!" Naruto called loudly after them.

"I swear, Shikamaru's an old man in disguise," Sakura commented once they were out of hearing range.

"Hn," was Sasuke's reply, which she took as agreement.

Turning back to the counter, she enjoyed the rest of her meal as Naruto weighed the benefits of another beef ramen against pork.

Sasuke watched his female teammate out of the corner of his eye. Her proclamation the other day had thrown him more than her sudden dedication to her training. There was an easy explanation for that. After what had happened in the Forest of Death, it had revealed all their weaknesses, including his own. His hand tightened on his chopsticks. He wasn't making enough progress. His brother had been made ANBU only a year older than he was now. _He _wouldn't have lost to Gaara, no matter what kind of demon he was.

Sasuke was grateful Sakura was beginning to pull her own weight. Maybe now she wouldn't hold them back so much. But it also frustrated him. Now that she was serious, she seemed to be making fast progress at taijutsu, though her style seemed to change each time he watched her spar or sparred with her himself. At least two of her styles were chakra-based from what he'd been able to tell with his Sharingan, one defensive and one offensive. There was also another style, one she automatically fell into and had to correct herself. He was curious about that one.

Even _Naruto_ seemed to be catching up at a furious pace. Sasuke's chopsticks broke in his hand. Sakura and Naruto sent him curious glances, but when he didn't say anything Naruto started talking at Sakura again, who nodded every so often like she was actually paying attention to the dead-last.

_Who had she trained with?_ Skills like that didn't just appear out of thin air. She'd first displayed them in the fight against Gaara, then again when she'd tried to escape the hospital. Sasuke still didn't quite understand the strange tension that had caused Kakashi-sensei to stop her or her immediate agreement to return to the hospital.

_Why was this bothering him so much?_ was his second thought, following hard on the heels of the first. It shouldn't be important, but the fact was Sakura had come to represent everything normal that he and Naruto couldn't have anymore. She'd always seemed like a civilian girl just playing at being a kunoichi, able to run back home to the loving arms of her parents every night. Sakura had been needy, greedy, and whiny, everything a clan kunoichi was trained not to be.

But now, even though she still tired before either he or Naruto, she didn't complain. She hadn't even whimpered when Naruto had accidentally nicked her with a kunai in their practice this morning. Sakura hadn't asked him for help or extra training, just the two of them, at all since the exams. Sasuke knew he should have been happy, but he couldn't help the strange feeling that they were _losing_ dependent, dependable Sakura.

He still hadn't figured out how he felt about that.

_It doesn't matter_, he told himself. _None of it matters. I only need them so I can catch up to _him.

Sakura had the strangest feeling that Sasuke's eyes were lingering on her. Inner-Sakura likely would have been ecstatic. It just made Sakura feel strangely paranoid.

_Do I have something on my face? _she asked Orochimaru.

_I'm in your head, Sakura-chan, _he responded dryly, _not perched on your shoulder. Perhaps his tiny one-track mind has finally given out, _he suggested.

_Sasuke's my friend, _Sakura warned him.

_He should be your playing-piece. _

_Life isn't chess, _she told him tiredly.

_No, it isn't, Sakura-chan. It's shougi. Your own pieces can be used against you. You should play carefully, or your dear Sasuke-kun will be a pawn in someone else's game. _

Sakura tuned Orochimaru out, wondering why she still tried to make conversation with him.

_Because you're lonely in your own head, Sakura-chan. Needy, all the way down to your soul. _

Because he was in her mind and it wasn't plausible to simply leave. That was the reason.

"Greetings, fellow youths!" A loud announcement from behind gave Sakura a fright. If Naruto's shout and the loud crash that followed was any indication, she wasn't the only one who'd been surprised.

Picking himself off the ground, Naruto grumbled as he dusted off his jumpsuit. Then he brightened. "Hey, bushy-brows! What are you doing here?"

Lee gave them all a snappy salute. "Gai-sensei has sent me to tell you to meet him and Kakashi-sensei at the gate."

Sakura's brow furrowed. _Was Naruto right? Some kind of joint mission? Or just training. _"Do you know what's going on, Lee-san?" she asked.

"No, my beautiful, youthful blossom. But Gai-sensei has said it will be an exercise that is certain to fan the flames of our youth!" he declared, thrusting his fist into the air.

_For Gai-sensei that covers a lot of ground, _Sakura thought. _We could be doing anything. _

"Che," Sasuke scoffed. "Let's just go and find out what they want."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "We're going to go another mission!"

"That's the right approach Naruto!" Lee congratulated him. "Let's have a youthful footrace to the gates!"

"You're on, bushy-brows!" With that Naruto took off, alarming civilians as he tore through the streets with Lee close behind.

Sakura sighed, putting enough money on the counter to cover both her and Naruto's ramen. He'd taken off in such a hurry that he'd forgotten to pay.

Sasuke waited for her, watching after the others with an expression that clearly read "What a bunch of idiots."

When they reached the gates, an orange blob on the ground turned out to be a panting Naruto, who was glaring up at Lee. Lee looked more excited by their race than tired, shadow boxing without the shadow, and that was a clear enough indicator of who had won. Sakura giggled. _Never challenge a shinobi on their own ground, as the saying goes. _

The other two members of Gai-sensei's team were also waiting at the gate, next to their instructor. Kakashi-sensei was leaning against the wall, reading, but he shut his book as they approached. "Now that Sasuke and Sakura have decided to join us, we can start," he said, making it sound like they'd taken a long detour instead of coming straight to the gate.

"Yosh!" Gai-sensei declared, punching his fist into the air in the gesture Lee had been emulating just minutes ago. "My eternally youthful rival and I have been assigned a mission—."

"Because of the lack of qualified jounin after the attack," Kakashi explained, cutting him off. "So instead of letting you slack off," and Team Seven as a whole glared at the implication that they'd take it easy in their training without Kakashi-sensei's questionable supervision, "we've come up with a bet. Gai here seems to think that his favorite student could work with anyone and make a successful team. I told him that I knew that my favorite student would be capable of making an even better one and beating his student's team." His visible eye crinkled as he smiled.

Sakura's eyebrow rose.

"So who's your favorite student, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto demanded eagerly.

_It's obviously Sasuke. _There had been a time when she would have said that to him, and though it hadn't become any less true, Sakura had grown up enough to know that was just being mean.

A Sasuke at her side who subtly preened told her without words he knew who Kakashi-sensei's favorite student was too.

"Not telling," was the answer Kakashi-sensei gave Naruto.

"So what are the rest of us doing, while your favorite students are doing this?" Hyuuga Neji asked. It was clear that all of Team () knew who their sensei's favored student was. _It would be hard _not _to notice. _

"Ah! An excellent question," Gai-sensei congratulated him.

"Jounin aren't the only thing in short supply," Kakashi-sensei told them all bluntly. "The village just doesn't have enough ninja to meet all the requests coming in."

"So why don't we turn some down?" Tenten asked.

"The village can't afford to," Sakura said, already familiar with the law of supply-and-demand. Oka-san had seen to that. "It'll look bad if we start turning down missions. It'll start rumors and other villages might take advantage of our weakness. Sound isn't the only village we're at odds with—not all them will be deterred by the new alliance with Suna. And if the missions don't come to us, they'll go somewhere else and we'll lose revenue. It's a lose-lose situation."

"Amazing, Sakura-chan! You know so much!" Lee enthused, applauding.

"That's the spirit of youth put to proper use," Gai-sensei said with a decisive nod, arms crossed across his chest.

Both Sakura and Kakashi-sensei blinked at them, taken aback. "Yes, that's exactly why we can't turn down the missions," Kakashi-sensei said when he'd recovered. "So in order to complete the missions normal team protocol isn't being enforced except on A-ranks or higher. Instead of full four-man cells, smaller teams are being sent out."

"What's that mean for us?" Sasuke asked.

"You six are going to be broken into teams of two and assigned missions. First team back wins the challenge," Kakashi-sensei explained.

"But remember that speed is not the only thing you will be judged on," Gai-sensei advised them. "Difficulty, customer satisfaction, and youthfulness will all be considered."

As a body the gennin nodded their understanding.

"What are the groups?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Lee and Naruto," Gai-sensei announced. "You're Squad One."

"Yosh!" Lee responded. "I will not let you down, Gai-sensei!"

"We're number one," Naruto agreed with a decisive nod of his head, arms crossed across his chest. "We'll show you all up. Especially you, Sasuke-teme."

"Sasuke and Tenten, you're Squad Two," Kakashi-sensei informed them. They took their team assignment more quietly, but Sasuke smirked.

Tenten fisted her hand. "We won't lose," she declared.

"That leaves Neji and Sakura," Gai-sensei said, winking at her, "last but not least. You're Squad Three."

"Understood," Neji said.

"Got it," Sakura chirruped. _Something more exciting than an in-village D-class!_

_And an unplayed piece. How delightful, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru purred.

"Because you're all gennin working in two-man teams, these missions will only be C-rank, but they should give you a challenge. We've hidden your mission scrolls around the village to make this more interesting. Squad One, your scroll is at the Academy. Squad Two, your scroll is on the Hokage monument. Squad Three, your scroll is at the stadium where the Chunnin exams were held." He slipped out his orange book and flipped it open. After a moment he looked up at them. "Why are you still here?"

The three gennin teams disappeared. Sakura took the lead briefly, to set the pace at a grueling sprint that would have done Gai-sensei proud, then allowed Neji to take over. It didn't take long for them to be standing in the center of the arena, Sakura scanning the surrounding area for anything resembling a mission scroll.

"It's a pretty big place," she muttered. "Why not just give us the scrolls?"

At her side her new teammate smirked. "The Byakugan won't lose to the Sharingan," he said, forming the focusing handsign. Sakura watched curiously as his kekkai genkai activated, the veins around his silver-white eyes bulging. "I see it. First section, third row, fifth seat."

Sakura flashed up to the section, spotting it almost immediately. "Got it," she called down. A moment later Neji appeared next to her.

"What does it say?" he asked.

Sakura was unrolling it even as he was speaking, but she frowned as she read aloud its contents. "'You should know by now that missions can only be assigned by the Hokage or an approved advisor in the mission room. Go collect your mission from the Hokage. She'll be at the usual place.' That's Kakashi-sensei's writing. Then it changes. Gai-sensei? 'Minus five youth points.'"

Neji frowned. "That would be Gai-sensei's style. Let's go."

Both young shinobi blurred as they sped towards the familiar destination. Neither was winded by the time they arrived, though Sakura was flushed. She scowled when she noticed Neji's long hair wasn't even mussed. _Why are _all _my teammates prettier than me? Even Naruto has that stupid Sexy no Jutsu. _The Hyuuga had even prettier hair than Ino and she'd bet he spent less time on it.

But he was knocking on the Hokage's door and Sakura composed herself. "Enter," Tsunade-sama's strident voice called from inside.

Neji opened the door and stepped inside, Sakura following. "Good afternoon, Tsunade-sama," she greeted as she stepped from behind him, bowing to the blonde woman seated behind the desk. At her side Neji repeated the gesture gracefully.

"Is it?" Tsunade asked irritably. "I haven't been allowed outside since I arrived this morning." She glared at her assistant, who smiled weakly back.

"The paperwork needs done, Tsunade-sama," she pointed out.

Tsunade-sama's hazel eyes narrowed like she had something to say about that, but then she turned back to the two gennin. "You're here about Kakashi and Gai's bet? You're the second. The Uchiha and the girl with the hair buns already left."

_They must have come here directly_, Sakura thought. At her side she noticed Neji was frowning.

_We might be behind, but we won't lose, _she decided. _We still have an advantage over Naruto and Lee-san. _

It was hard not to fidget impatiently as Tsunade-sama shuffled through the papers on her desk. "Not that one. Ah, here it is," she said, producing a scroll. "C-rank transport. Shizune, will you go get the item?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," the dark-haired woman said, hurrying off.

While they waited for her to return Tsunade-sama filled them in on the details. "What you'll be transporting is a scroll case. It is not to be opened by request of the customer. It needs to get to a village in Earth, right on the border. Your contact's name is Kioshi Takumi. He runs a hotsprings inn in Surotaiga. There's a map in the scroll," she said, holding out the scroll. Neji stepped forward and took it. "He's also the one paying for the mission. Any questions?"

"What are the chances of running into Iwa-nin?" Neji asked.

"Low. The scrolls in the case are supposed to be of civilian interest only. You might run into some thugs, but nothing the two of you shouldn't be able to handle."

Shizune returned with the scroll case as Tsunade-sama finished speaking. It was medium sized, large enough to hold perhaps two or three scrolls, elegantly austere in a maple with a good grain and a tasseled crimson cord tied in an elaborate knot.

As Shizune handed it to her, Sakura was reminded that she hadn't made much progress in unsealing her own mysterious scroll case. Inner-Sakura had overestimated their sealing abilities by a long shot, the interaction of the single seals reacting in unexpected ways. She kept putting back the study it would take to open it. Whatever was inside was obviously valuable to go through so much trouble, but Sakura simply didn't have the _time _to study everything she needed and keep up her training. So she was prioritizing and curiosity aside, the scroll case didn't rank very high on that list.

"Any other questions?" Tsunade asked. Both gennin shook their heads. "Then good luck."

They left as quickly as possible without being rude.

"Plan for a week," Neji recommended. "Where should we meet?"

"Ichiraku's?" Sakura asked automatically. "Ten minutes?"

Neji nodded curtly. "Make it seven."

It actually took her five, slipping in her own window and adding supplies to the backpack she kept waiting in anticipation of her next mission. Extra clothes, extra kunai, and the scroll case were all packed neatly inside. She also left a short note on the table, deftly avoiding her mother. If her father had been home she might have told him, but she couldn't sense him in the house.

Bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet, Sakura waited for Neji to make his appearance. She doubted it had taken him longer than her to pack, but he probably had to alert someone he was leaving on a mission. Sakura thought it would likely be a little more formal than her note.

"Waiting for someone, forehead-girl?" Ino asked. She and her teammates were apparently heading back to the training grounds with their lunch finally finished, Shikamaru yawning and Chouji looking resigned.

"Yes," Sakura admitted. "It's a new mission."

Ino eyed her backpack. "Outside the village."

"Yep."

"That's so unfair," Ino whined, putting a fist on one hip. "Why don't we go on more missions outside?" she asked her teammates.

"Because they're troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

Ino ignored him. "I mean, could you imagine? Outside, under the stars with Sasuke-kun," she purred, her fangirl side showing. "Maybe even sharing a tent," she squealed, excited by her own fantasy.

Both the males on her team were watching with resignation.

"You'll have to ask Tenten-san about that when she gets back," Sakura said, taking pity on them.

"Tenten?" Ino asked as she tried to place the name. "You mean that girl with all the weapons who got eliminated before the final round?"

"That's the one."

"And what would she know about it?"

Sakura smiled deviously. "Well, that's what she's doing right now. A week-long mission, just her and Sasuke."

"You're kidding," Ino growled. "That's so unfair! Why would she get to do something like that? She probably doesn't even appreciate it. I think I remember her making eyes at that stuck-up Hyuuga on her team. Though he was pretty hot too," she admitted begrudgingly, "but he's no Sasuke-kun."

She grabbed Sakura's hands suddenly. "You can't let her steal him," she ordered. "It's a fight between you and me, not some girl with hair like panda ears."

"O-kay," Sakura agreed. The force of Ino's personality was always overwhelming. She couldn't even protest that they weren't competing anymore.

Ino's vibrant eyes narrowed. "Why are you still here if Sasuke's on some mission?"

"Because my partner isn't here yet," Sakura told her.

"Partner?"

"Yeah, we've been split into two-man teams," she explained vaguely as she tried to sense Neji, but there were too many people and she didn't have a 'feel' for him yet.

"Don't tell me you have to go on a week-long mission with _Naruto_," Ino said, sounding like it was a death sentence.

"There's nothing wrong with Naruto," Sakura defended her teammate.

Ino was silent for a moment. "Did you hit your head or something?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Come on, even you have to admit he did a lot of growing up in the chunnin exams," she told Ino. "He wasn't ever _bad_, but he's better now. More mature. Less loud on most occasions."

"I'll take your word for it. So where's this mysterious partner of yours?" Ino said, looking around dramatically.

"Right behind you," Sakura said, finally spotting him.

She freed one of her hands from Ino so she could wave, though she was fairly certain he'd already seen her.

"Ready to leave?" Neji asked in his deep, even voice. A drawstring bag was slung over one shoulder.

Sakura gave him a thumbs-up. "Good to go. Bye, Ino-pig. Don't make anyone cry while I'm gone." She left Ino staring open-mouthed after them as she and Neji disappeared. _Today was a good day_, she thought as she smiled broadly.

A/N: I don't know if this is longer because there's less tension or if I just liked the content, but this is the longest chapter since the first one.


	11. Calm Before the Storm Part II REDUX

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I humbly request a moment of silence for that tragedy.

A/N: These two chapters were really short once they were rewritten, so I merged them into a longer chapter. Enjoy and review if you care to.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Eleven-

Calm Before the Storm: Part II

Sakura was _looking_, with the predatory gaze the word implied. They were making good time, still within the familiar forests of the land of Fire, so she felt free to let her mind wonder. She was alert for danger, but only so much of her brain was devoted to it. The rest was occupied in trying to evaluate her partner.

Neji had graduated from the Academy two years ahead of her, so she'd never participated in even the most basic drills with him. And remembering how long it had taken for Team Seven's shaky teamwork to come together she thought it would be best if she tried this before something happened. Her knowledge of his strength was limited to what he'd displayed in the chunnin exams, but that alone was impressive enough. He was a practitioner of Gentle Fist style taijutsu, designed for use with the Byakugan, his kekkai genkai. A prodigy among a clan whose strength had equaled the Uchiha's at their peak.

But he was an almost exclusively close-range fighter, which would be trouble if she relied on her five-style taijutsu. In a two-man team he'd have done better with Tenten, who was a solid middle-range fighter. Squad One would be having the same problem with Naruto and Lee, but Sasuke was good enough he could switch ranges, which made Squad Two the most balanced.

Sakura frowned. There was nothing for it but to deal with it. Glancing ahead at her teammate's back she thought, _Ino, you were wrong. Hyuuga Neji _is _as attractive as Sasuke. _

Where Sasuke was all hard, sharp edges from his hair to his personality, Neji was subtle, from his beige shirt to his silver-white eyes. If Sasuke was the flame Neji was the river, flowing and graceful. _Which is just unfair to every kunoichi that has to work with him, _she pouted._ How does Tenten stand it?_ To distract herself she called ahead, "So what's the plan?"

He dropped back to speak to her, not stopping. "If you can keep up this pace we'll try to make the outpost town by nightfall. It'll be our last good rest before we leave Fire country's borders. After that we'll have to be alert for foreign-nin."

Sakura nodded. If she pushed herself, she could keep this pace until then. With a good rest, she'd be fine tomorrow too. _Thank you, Gai-sensei,_ she said silently. "Not a problem," she said to her teammate, smiling at him. He nodded and moved back into the point position.

They traveled in silence until the outpost town came into sight. The two gennin perched on the same branch at the edge of the tree line. "There seems to be a lot of people, even for an outpost town," she said warily.

Neji apparently agreed as he activated his kekkai genkai. After a moment he blinked, the veins receding. "It's a founding festival. It looks like they have food vendors and games."

"Should we still go? It'll probably be hard to find rooms." Sakura asked, a little disappointed that they'd miss out. Not only on the festival, but real beds.

"It was in our plans to spend the night here. We'll see if we can find lodging, then enjoy the festival for a few hours."

Sakura hid her surprise well, but apparently not well enough.

"Is something wrong?" Neji asked.

"Nothing, Hyuuga-san," she demurred.

"Haruno-san."

"Just surprised you'd make time for the festival in our schedule is all."

Though the light was fading she could see his eyebrow raise in question. "Why shouldn't I? We're both tired and I like festivals."

Sakura tried to imagine Sasuke making the same concession and couldn't. Even if they were staying anyway, he'd have ignored the festival as best he could. She giggled. "That makes sense," she admitted.

Neji leapt from the branch and Sakura followed him through the crowd, staying close as he guided them with the help of his kekkai genkai to an inn. It took them four tries, but they finally found a single open room at a clean inn with a cheerful proprietress. There'd been an open room at the third one, but the stern-faced man behind the counter hadn't let them have it when he found out they intended to share.

Neji claimed the bed nearest the door and Sakura wasn't about to fight him for it, so she put her pack on the other bed and dug through it looking for her comb. Producing it, she slipped into the tiny attached bathroom to wash her face and tug her comb through the worst of the snarls. Sakura tugged out her hairtie, noting that her hair was to her collarbone again. It didn't take long to have her hair in order, the spiky tail at the back of her head beginning to resemble an actual ponytail again.

"Should we leave the case here or take it with us?" Sakura asked as she exited the bathroom. Festivals in the outpost towns were notorious for their pickpockets. She didn't want the attention breaking a pickpocket's fingers would bring and she knew that she made a good target: young, female, and her candyfloss hair didn't help things.

Neji still looked frustratingly immaculate. "I'll carry it," he replied.

Wordlessly she handed over the scroll case, which Neji put into his pack underneath several layers of things.

Sakura left her backpack in the room as they headed out. First on the list was dinner. The restaurants weren't as crowded as she expected, most of the people apparently enjoying the festival food. She was in high spirits throughout the meal, looking forward to the festival and enjoying Orochimaru and Amanozako's silence. It was the most whole she'd felt in a long time.

His temporary teammate belonged in a festival atmosphere, Neji decided. She just seemed so _alive_ and _free_ as she danced through the crowd, verdant eyes shining as they darted here and there. And she almost matched, what with her light pink hair and bright red obi, though her kimono-cut top was in a rather somber shade for the celebration. Not at all like a kunoichi from Konohagakure and nothing at all like Tenten.

A stranger wouldn't be able to tell she'd kept pace with him the entire day, though he'd noticed her tiring toward the end. The Haruno Sakura he remembered from the chunnin exam wouldn't have been able to do that—her performance had been so unremarkable he'd almost forgotten who she was until he'd seen her hair. Primarily he remembered her tenacity, fighting when he'd known her to be outmatched by her opponent from the Yamanaka clan.

But this Sakura seemed different. Her confidence didn't ring false.

"So, what did you want to do?" she asked.

Neji hesitated before he admitted it. He liked festivals only because of a memory from his childhood, before the Birdcage Seal and his father's death. His father had taken him to one particular stand and he remembered the hour he'd patiently spent teaching him the technique. "I wanted to catch a goldfish." He was prepared to defend his choice as a test of skill, but Sakura only nodded.

"I think I saw that…,' she abruptly changed directions, leading them to the stand he remembered seeing during their hunt for a room.

"I hope you're better at this than Naruto," she said as they waited for a mother to herd her crying child out of the way. "It's apparently his worst festival game."

Neji's brow rose as he paid for his chance and handed over his bag to Sakura, who hugged it to her chest. Kneeling in front of the low basins, Neji cleared his mind of everything but the sound of his father's voice as he'd explained that it was _gentleness_ that would win the game. That festival was one of the few, treasured memories he had of his father that didn't involve the Hyuuga clan. Even if he'd made peace with Hiashi-sama there were long and bitter years of memories that would never leave him. Not all the Main family had been as accepting that a son of a Branch line had discovered their techniques.

His lips formed a firm, stern line at those memories, but as he put the paper net in the water he was slow and gentle, trapping the black-and-gold fish easily. The man congratulated him and plunked his catch into a waiting plastic bag of water.

"What are you going to do with it?" Sakura asked curiously as he rose.

He didn't answer, instead leading them over to where the child was still crying softly, rubbing at his eyes. "Here," he offered. Dark eyes, not special in any way, lit up at his simple gift. Carefully taking the bag out of his hands, the child beamed up at him.

"Thank you," he said, echoed a moment later by his smiling mother.

Neji nodded, collecting his bag from Sakura and merging back into the river of people. Sakura appeared at his side a moment later, her eyes shining almost as brightly as the child's. She looked like she was about to say something teasing and overly familiar, but then she simply said, "My turn. I choose watching the fireworks."

Neji had said he 'liked' festivals, but it must have been a very complex kind of like. Sakura had eventually been tempted into buying dango as they looked for a good vantage for her favorite part of any festival, the fireworks, but Neji didn't even look at the food vendors. He didn't seem very fond of the loud, shuffling masses, but that simply could have been she wasn't familiar with interpreting his blank facial expressions.

Except for the goldfish, he didn't display any interest in the games either, though they wouldn't have been able to take the prizes with them in any case. Instead he seemed satisfied to follow after her with a reflective look in his eyes, like he almost wasn't seeing this crowd and this festival. His pupiless eyes only increased the impression of blindness.

Ninja in a civilian town had an advantage when looking for the best place to see the fireworks. Sakura and Neji ended up perched on the roof a three-story apartment complex near where they were setting them off. Head leaned back, knees pulled up to her chest, Sakura watched the colorful explosions of light and sound and wished it was her _real _team with her.

"We should retire," Neji suggested eventually. "We'll need to leave before dawn."

"O-kay," Sakura agreed, rising and stretching, hands far above her head. "Can't let the other squads win."

"Exactly."

It was almost midmorning and Sakura had taken point. They'd looked over the map again when they returned to their room and debated their route, eventually deciding on the most direct path, bypassing the roads in favor of travelling by trees.

From behind, Neji spoke for the first time in an hour. "We're being followed," he announced.

Sakura slowed her pace for a moment until Neji caught up. "How many?" she asked.

His kekkai genkai was activated. "Nine," he answered shortly. "Likely gennin or low chunnin level, from the look of them."

_So they were ninja. _"Are they trying to close the distance?"

Neji seemed focused on something she couldn't see and she wondered briefly how he dealt with the sensory overload. Had his brain structure somehow been changed to accommodate a wider range of visual information or was it the result of training? "They appear to be keeping a constant pace."

Scenarios ran through her mind. "Do you think they're driving us into an ambush point?" her voice had become clinical and impersonal as she thought aloud. "They have enough people to flank us and we don't have the advantage of terrain. It would be better for them to force open confrontation if they knew we'd detected them, so we can assume that they don't know about the Byakugan."

She felt Neji's eyes on her as she plotted. "Can you tell if they're trying to drive us into a trap?"

He was quiet for a moment as he focused his attention ahead of them. "I can't see anything and there are no reinforcements within my range. Do you have an idea?"

_That's good, because nine is a large number of ninja to commit to a C-class mission, gennin or not. What's in this scroll case?_

"Yeah. We keep going. They obviously have a good idea where we're going if they intercepted us so easily, so we don't have to worry about throwing them off the trail. If they haven't closed by afternoon, we slow our pace like we're getting tired. We make camp and wait for them to make their own. Then when there are only sentries posted, we make our move. With the Byakugan and the wireless comm pieces you'll be able to guide me through their camp and I'll _take care_ of them. That's the plan that offers the most advantage to us." It never occurred to Sakura how it sounded or the sudden alert stillness in her psyche. Deep in her cage, strung up by chains and trapped by bars, Amanozako _smiled_.

Neji's brows raised in question, but he only said sardonically, "Yes, Haruno-taichou."

The Iwa-nin had posted two sentries at their own camp and two were busy watching the logs and packs masquerading as Neji and Sakura. They'd waited until the first watch had gone to sleep so they wouldn't be interrupted during their attack.

"Are you sure about this?" Neji asked with concern, his voice low. Sakura glanced over at him and smiled weakly. It had finally sunk in that she'd committed to _killing_ the Iwa-nin. "You could just leave them unconscious," he said, seeming to read her mind.

Sakura shook her head. "Never leave an enemy alive behind you." Her hands clenched.

Neji stared at her long and hard. "If you're certain," he said at last.

_You shouldn't worry about Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru chuckled. _It will be her pleasure_.

_Shut up,_ Sakura snarled. _I've only been a gennin for a year. I'd be normal for me to have still not had my first kill. Of course he's worried. _

She nodded curtly at Neji.

"Alright. Whenever you're ready," he said and clicked on his earpiece.

Sakura was crouched in the brush beside him and her eyes almost closed as she focused. Her chakra was already cloaked. She concentrated on erasing her breath and presence. It was a jounin-level technique but her control was good enough she thought she'd accomplished it well enough to hide her presence from gennin or chunnin level opponents. If they had a jounin with them it would all be over, but according to Neji none of their enemies had chakra coils developed enough to signify jounin. So it either meant they didn't have one or that they were _really_ good.

She heard Neji inhale in surprise. Cracking one eye open she knew that it had worked. Moving forward without even the rustle of leaves to advertise her presence she snuck into the enemy encampment, bypassing the sentry. One of the Iwa-nin had bedded down a little distance from the others, so Sakura approached him first. Her, she corrected herself as she drew nearer.

The girl was blond, her breath puffing out her bangs as she slept. Sakura crept up behind her, her hand curled into position for a two-fingered strike. Bloodless and instant.

Suddenly she was beset by images of the camp splattered with blood, the Iwa-nin in pieces. Instead of horror _victory_,_ pleasure_, and _desire_ flooded through her so quickly her heart skipped a beat. She ground her teeth together silently. It would feel so _good_, but that wasn't Sakura, that was Amanozako, and she wouldn't think of the fact that Amanozako was her.

Before Amanozako won, Sakura slipped her hand over the kunoichi's mouth, striking at her vertebrae with the same move that'd she'd almost used on Sasuke. She died with a gasp against the palm of Sakura's hand that made her shiver.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Sakura moved efficiently through the camp with Neji whispering instructions in her ear. Unwilling to repeat the peculiar sensuality of the last kill, Sakura drew a kunai. Three more died quietly with their throats slashed, their allies none the wiser. It was only with the fifth and final of the sleepers that gave her trouble. Something alerted him and his eyes fluttered open, as blue and clear as Naruto's.

He was disoriented at first, mumbling "Wha…" and Sakura flitted forward, pinning him to the ground. She smothered her yelp as he bit down on the side of her hand, drawing blood as he struggled to alert his teammates. She'd accidently dropped her kunai in the struggle, so it was with her hands that she snapped his neck, his head lolling to one side.

_Touch is the most intimate_, Orochimaru purred. _And you have such gentle hands, Sakura-chan._

"The sentries heard you," Neji's voice in her ear said. "I'm coming to help."

Sakura turned on her heel and rose, catching a kunai that would have flown over her head if she'd stayed down. A feral smile spread across her face and Amanozako laughed with Sakura's mouth. The small, sane part was grateful she hadn't flipped the comm on to two-way. "_Ready to play?_" she demanded.

Closing the distance between them with speed that left her dizzy, she caught him with a straight kick to the chest. His back exploded outward in dark, shredded droplets but the darkness hid the color. Nothing could hide the smell as his intestines leaked out onto the ground. The sight of his falling body was enough to make the last one hesitate. Sakura's wrist snapped out and she returned his partner's kunai to him. She followed it, quick as thought, driving it in deeper and deeper, feeling warmth run over her hands.

His body fell to the ground in what seemed like slow motion as she returned to herself, just Sakura, and Amanozako laughing in some deep place. Sakura began to tremble, holding her hands in front of her face, looking at the blood that covered the pale skin.

_Hush, hush, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru crooned. _You were beautiful. _She could almost feel him stroking her hair, but that was only a soft wind.

Strangling a sob, Sakura lowered her hands as Neji burst through the bushes the camp had been hidden behind. She tried to smile at him, but a single tear flowed down her face and ruined the effort.

He seemed about to say something, but then he closed his mouth. Looking around the massacre she'd made of the camp, his lips formed a stern line. "I'll go take care of the others," he said at last. "Wait here."

Sakura nodded, wiping away the lone tear with an unbloodied forearm. "'Kay," she agreed weakly. She sunk to her knees and wrapped her arms around them, being careful not to touch her hands to her legs.

It didn't take long before Neji returned with their bags. Sakura stood shakily. "There's a stream about four hundred yards ahead," he told her. "You can wash your hands there."

She followed him dumbly, kneeling automatically next to the small stream and plunging her hands into the cold water. "Sorry," she apologized, not really certain what she was sorry for. The killing? The crying?

He grunted. "Don't worry about it," he said. As Sakura scrubbed and rescrubbed her hands he spoke. "Your stealth was impressive."

Flicking the water off her hands, Sakura stared into the water. It was too dark to reflect anything back. "Thanks."

Neji tried again and Sakura realized he was awkwardly attempting to comfort her. "That move with the second-to-last ninja was specialized taijutsu, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," she said, standing. "Gai-sensei, he...during the training period for the Chunnin exams I asked him to train me. Taijutsu, speed, and stamina training. He's the reason I'm not holding us back." She held out her hand and Neji passed her the backpack.

"It's called Shifting Sands. It's a style from Suna. That's probably why you didn't recognize it."

Neji nodded as she slid the straps of her backpack on and settled them comfortably on her shoulders. "I see," he said. "Do you want to rest for a while?"

"I'd rather run for a while, if you don't mind," Sakura told him. Truthfully what she wanted to run from was _herself_.

But Neji only nodded again. "Then we'll press on and take a short break later. Lead on," he said, indicating she was to set the pace again.

Sakura pushed them to the point where her lungs burned and her calves ached, but not once did she slip, even when it began raining. She kept her mind blank but her senses open, though she knew she was too raw, too unbalanced by the last fight to have another encounter so soon. She knew there wouldn't be another one.

Whatever was in the scrolls was valuable, but not so valuable as to send more than three cells, even without their jounin-sensei.

Neji let her run herself out, then stopped them at noon when he spotted a cave. Huddling inside, waiting for her damp clothes to dry out from the heat of a small fire, Sakura didn't even brush her wet bangs out of her eyes.

"Stop worrying about it," he finally said. "It was well done, but it's over now. We still have to complete the mission."

_I wish it was over. But Amanozako won't ever go away_, she thought to herself. Outwardly she tried a smile that only managed to look painfully tragic.

Neji sighed. "I'm going to sleep. You'll take first watch?"

"Got it. I'll wake you in two hours," she assured him.

"Make it one," he told her. "As hard as we've been running, if we push it we can make the inn by nightfall. We can sleep properly there."

With that he lay down, pillowing his head on his pack. Sakura watched him by the dim natural light filtering into the cave and the flickering orange light of the fire. His breathing soon evened out and for the next hour Sakura watched the rise and fall of his chest, her mind dulled into a pleasant numbness by the repetition. She memorized his features, from the fall of dark hair that fanned across the pack to the straight line of his nose.

When his hour was up, she gently shook him awake and he switched places with her, taking a seat near the mouth of the cave. As he folded his legs into the lotus position she realized he meant to spend his watch in meditation. Laying down where he'd been only moments before she imagined she could feel the lingering heat of a human body, providing a much needed sense of closeness. Curling into herself, she let her eyes fall closed and prepared herself for the nightmares.

They'd made the hotsprings inn a little after dark, both of them exhausted but too proud to show it. It was located in a little resort town that was still bustling even after nightfall, strings of lights strung above the dirt streets just coming on for the night and some of the shop owners coming outside to turn on lighted signs advertising that they were still open.

Neji led them to their destination, where they were greeted by an attendant who invited them inside as she went to fetch the master. Kioshi Takumi himself appeared a moment later, a man in his fifties, with a face that still bore the remains of stern, regular features beginning to soften with age.

But when he smiled all that sternness disappeared and Sakura realized why he was in the service industry almost immediately. He genuinely _liked_ people. Naruto would have enjoyed meeting him, Sakura thought as they exchanged the obligatory greetings.

Rising from his slight bow, Kioshi-san remarked, "I had not expected the scroll to be delivered so promptly. Did you encounter any problems on the road?"

"Nothing we weren't able to handle," Sakura responded politically, though she knew that the amount of foreign ninja they'd encountered probably should have upped the mission rating to a B-class.

Neji's voice was equally polite as he inquired, "Were you aware that Iwa-nin would be sent to retrieve the scroll case?"

Kioshi-san looked startled. "I was aware my competitors would probably make some attempt at it, but they have their own family retainers. I didn't think they would hire ninja. They must have been more desperate than I thought. Let me give you my sincerest apologies," he said, bowing again.

Neji and Sakura returned the gesture.

"As part of my thanks, would you like to enjoy the baths? I can have dinner and a room prepared as well."

"It would be much appreciated," Neji said.

"This way then," he said, escorting them through the halls after they slipped off their muddy ninja sandals and exchanged them for slippers.

At the junction where the entry hall led into the main dining room he took their packs himself and introduced them to a young and eager attendant he called Mai-chan. She was pretty in the mint green yukata the attendants all wore, with her brown hair pulled into a ponytail down her back and her cheeks flushed. "So you're ninja?" she asked eagerly.

"That's right," Sakura replied.

"Oh, wow, that's so exciting. We don't get many here-we're a little out of the way for the Iwa-nin and most of the Konoha-nin prefer not to cross the border," she chattered as she led them to the shower rooms. "If you'll leave your clothes in the baskets, we can have them laundered for you. Is there any fabric that will need special care?"

"My top is silk," Sakura said as Neji shook his head.

"Okay, we'll watch out for that. While you shower I'll see if I can find some yukata to fit you."

Fifteen minutes later Sakura was refreshed, her candyfloss hair clean and her spirits lighter. She was beginning to look forward to her soak in the hotspring before bed. Pulling on the plain dark blue yukata that Mai-chan had returned with, she drifted down the hall and into the dining room. The hostess seated her at one of the low tables and served her tea to drink while she waited for Neji to join her.

Smiling as she breathed in the fragrance of the rather standard green tea, Sakura watched the slow stream of people that drifted in and out as people caught a late dinner. Two teenage boys a table over kept eyeing her and she was counting down in her head as she waited for them to gather the courage to approach her.

She was almost startled as Neji seated himself across from her. He was wearing a matching yukata and looked very traditional and handsome with his hair down and loose. She smiled as the boys' faces fell. "What's so entertaining?" he asked.

"Nothing, nothing," she assured him, almost laughing.

He smiled at her, his lips quirking up slightly at the edges to form the slight gesture. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Mmm," Sakura hummed as a waitress bustled out of the kitchen and placed their meals before them. Picking up her chopsticks after the brief prayer, Sakura spoke again. "I'm a shinobi. It's just hard, sometimes." _Like when you were certain you were not only going crazy, you were already there. _

But Neji nodded. "Lee also had difficulties in dealing with the deaths. He cried after our first four missions where we were forced to kill."

"What about Tenten-san?" Sakura asked curiously. She was the only other ninja from a civilian line. Even though Lee's chakra coils had been damaged, he also came from a clan. And Tenten was a kunoichi, though Sakura wanted to tell herself that didn't make any difference. But the fact was it did. Even from the Academy their training was different.

"Tenten never cried in front of us. I think she was determined to prove she was as good if not better than her shinobi teammates. I was...making that more difficult than it should have been," he admitted.

"You didn't like kunoichi?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't anyone," Neji corrected wryly. "I was resentful of both my teammates and Gai-sensei."

"Oh," Sakura said in a small voice. She remembered the chunnin exams, how angry and proud he'd been. But he'd also seemed to have a solid relationship with his teammates. "Sasuke and Naruto," she confided, "I don't know if they've made their first kill yet."

It had come close, on the bridge with Haku, but that had been Kakashi-sensei's kill in the end.

Neji's brow rose. "This didn't seem like your first."

Sakura shook her head, her mouth pressed into an unhappy line. "No, but never on that...scale," she said, pausing as she searched for the right word. "I'd just like to not think about it."

Neji nodded, satisfied to respect her wishes. Or perhaps just not that curious. "When do you want to leave in the morning?" he asked instead.

"Early?" Sakura said, a question in her voice. "I still want to win."

Neji smirked broadly at that. "Early," he granted her. "Enjoy the baths."

Sakura smiled at him as she rose. "Of course." As she left the room she saw the two boys glaring at an unaffected Hyuuga Neji's back. She giggled at the sight.

She stayed in the bath for a blissful hour, but the third time she almost drowned herself by falling asleep she decided it was time to find her room. Peering up and down the hallway, Sakura was considering trying to track Neji in the hope he'd found the room when Mai-chan appeared.

"Ah, Haruno-san, I was looking for you," she chirruped. "Are you ready to retire?"

"Yes, thank you," Sakura said gratefully.

"Follow me, please," the young girl instructed. "The laundry women admired your top, you know. They said both the stitching and the silk were high-quality. Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift from my father," Sakura said. The materials had probably come from their own stores as the Haruno clan dealt primarily in luxury goods. Her mother's pride wasn't simply the pride of a tradesman, but also that of a highly respected merchant clan. Disappointed pride was a main factor in their strained relationship.  
"It was beautiful," the young attendant said admiringly. "This is your room," she said, sliding the door open and stepping to one side. "Have a nice night."

Sakura thanked her again and slid the door shut behind her. She saw her backpack and Neji's bag laid on a table and two futons already prepared on the floor. She happily claimed the one further from the door. She couldn't quite imagine Neji tripping over her in the dark, but she decided not to tempt fate.

Snuggling between the covers, she fell asleep almost immediately, waking only briefly when Neji slid the door open and surveyed the room. Groggy, she sent him a half-hearted wave, then collapsed back into her pillow and remembered nothing until morning.

There was a respectful tapping at their door that woke her up. "Yes?" she groaned, barely lifting her face from the pillow.

"Hyuuga-san asked us to wake you when breakfast was prepared," a female voice outside the screen answered.

Sakura sighed grumpily. "Thank you." Light footsteps signaled the retreat of the attendant.

Growling into her pillow, she glanced over at the neighboring futon. Hyuuga Neji apparently didn't move when he slept, because he looked like a model for sleeping posture. Seized by impulse, she flung her pillow at him.

His hand immediately shot out and caught it. Sitting up he sent a disapproving look her direction. Foiled, Sakura flopped back down onto her futon. She stretched like a cat as she tried to wake up. Normally it was easier, but they'd really pushed themselves yesterday and she still felt tired. In the middle of making a bridge with her body, she collapsed back down to the futon, deciding it wasn't worth it.

A snort of laughter told her Neji was watching. "Don't tell me you're a morning person, Hyuuga-san," she said repressively.

"When compared to you, perhaps. When compared to Gai-sensei? By no means," he answered, standing.

Peering up at him through her tousled bangs, she tried unsuccessfully to smother a giggle in the fabric of her futon.

"What is it?" Neji asked.

"Your...hair...," Sakura choked out. _The Hyuuga Neji proves he's as human as the rest of us._

He apparently wasn't as sound a sleeper as he appeared, because he had a case of bedhead, his silky brown hair standing up in strange loops in the back. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it out while Sakura continued to snigger into her futon. _Definitely not enough sleep_, she decided.

Her hair was probably just as messy, but its ravaged spikes always looked messy. She noticed Neji look over at her as she finger-combed it roughly. "Something wrong?" she asked as she dug through her bag, looking for her comb.

"It looks like you cut it with a kunai," he finally said.

"That's because I did," Sakura said dryly. "I think you showed up right after that."

A brown brow rose. "And you haven't trimmed it since then?"

"I kept meaning to, but there were always better things to do."

Neji looked unconvinced. "Presentation is also an important part of being a shinobi," he said.

Sakura sighed. _I always spent too much time on presentation. I'm probably overcompensating, but still..._

"We still have time before we leave," Neji said. "You could ask one of the attendants to trim your hair."

It was her turn to send him a questioning look with raised brows. "They'd do that?"

"With this many attendants, surely we can find one skilled in hair setting. If nothing else, the proprietress should be able to suggest someone." As he slipped out of the room to call an attendant, Sakura blinked. Most days it was difficult to remember that some of the clans were also wealthy as well as powerful, but then something like what had just occurred would happen to remind her.

And the Hyuuga clan was not only both powerful and wealthy, it was as intensely traditional as any of the civilian noble clans. Presentation, bearing, and manners would have been taught to Neji from the cradle. It was part of what created his arrogance, but also what prompted his consideration. Sakura sighed into her pillow. _Clans all seem unnecessarily complicated. _

Minutes later he returned, an older woman following him. She bowed to Sakura. "I am Matsuoka Sakae, Kioshi Takumi's wife and proprietress of this hotsprings inn. Hyuuga-san said you had some trouble with your hair?" she asked delicately.

Compared to this composed older woman who had her black hair elegantly pulled up, she did indeed. Sakura blushed. "Yes."

Matsuoka-san had her wet her hair, then set to trimming it, sometimes stepping back and tilting Sakura's head from side to side. Neji disappeared, presumably to dress and eat breakfast. At last Matsuoka-san seemed satisfied. "Your hair was very rough," she chided her softly. "You need to condition it properly. I can recommend some treatments for you, using natural oils if you don't like synthetic compounds. A girl's hair should be her pride."

Sakura grimaced. "Not for a shinobi."

Matsuoka-san's pursed lips told her she was unconvinced. "I don't see how caring for your hair is a conflicting interest. If anything, the color of your hair already draws attention." She reached out and brushed some loose strands to the side with her manicured nails. "I've done what I can. The rest will be your decision. Breakfast is ready when you're dressed." With that she took her leave.

When she washed her face, Sakura was pleasantly surprised. All the rough ends had been evened out in the back, cut slightly shorter than her bangs which angled forward to frame her face. It wasn't an unflattering cut. Pulling her hair back into its now habitual tail centered at the back of her head she found even the natural spikes looked neater and more regular.

She smiled at Neji as she joined him at breakfast. "You were right," she admitted.

"Of course," he agreed without a hint of modesty.

They were about halfway through their meal when Kioshi-san joined them. "Your hair looks very pretty this morning Haruno-san," he complimented her with sparkling eyes that said he'd been complicit.

"Thank you, Kioshi-san," she replied, still grateful for the compliment.

"I hope you both had a pleasant stay?" he asked.

"Very much so," Sakura said with a genuine smile.

"It was the least I could do. Within the scrolls you brought to me with such trouble is the location of a rare mineral said to have miraculous healing properties. I was hoping to have it mined and added to the baths here. It's why my competitors were so desperate to retrieve it." He rose from the table. "I thought you might be curious to know. Please enjoy your breakfast."

When they'd left the hotsprings inn, Sakura asked quietly, "So what do you think?"

"About the mineral? If it works as Kioshi-san claims, it will doubtless assure the success of the inn."

Sakura skipped ahead and turned to face him, "Just think, we stayed here _before_ it was famous. That's pretty cool, don't you think?"

Her enthusiasm appeared to be infectious, because that small upturn returned to Neji's lips. "Well," he asked, "after a proper night of rest, do you think we can beat our record back?"

Sakura groaned, "You are Gai-sensei's student," but she was game. The two gennin disappeared from the town of Surotaiga before the civilians who'd been sharing the road with them even noticed they were gone.


	12. A Triumphant Return? REDUX

Disclaimer: If I haven't owned Naruto throughout this entire story, what in the world makes you think I acquired it for this chapter?

A/N: I couldn't resist the opening. If you don't get what I mean, then it's a safe bet I've been writing too long and need to go do something else. But seriously, playful!semi-cannon!Sakura is much more fun to write.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twelve-

A Triumphant Return?

Sakura was panting, sweat beading and rolling down her forehead. "So," she gasped, "I've been thinking."

Her companion grunted in a half-reply.

"Would it be appropriate if I called you Neji-san?" she asked.

Neji didn't bother to look at her as they were forced to leap from the trees to cross an open stretch of meadow. Sakura winced as different muscles came into play as she struggled to keep pace. "You may," he said, his voice only slightly strained. "I suppose that means it would be appropriate for me to address you as Sakura-san?"

"Guess so," Sakura teased breathlessly as they leaped back into the trees. She didn't have Neji's sheer stamina so she compensated by calculating angles, using her momentum to build kinetic energy for more speed, no longer leaping easily from top of branch to top of branch, instead bouncing herself from trunk to trunk.

She could see flashes of Neji's beige shirt as ran he above her, so she bared her teeth and pushed herself harder.

"Getting tired, Sakura-san?" Her name was stressed mockingly as he used their new familiarity to goad her.

"Not at all, Neji-san." The same emphasis was placed on his name, Sakura wincing as she miscalculated and barked herself on a trunk, losing some skin on her hands. "But if you want to give up, I'll take your surrender gracefully."

"Hn," he imitated her usual teammate with remarkable flare. "If you can keep it up for another seven minutes, we'll have beaten our previous record by nearly half a day."

Sakura nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her, saving her breath.

Gai and Kakashi had returned from their mission unscathed. Kakashi had taken to using the 'waiting for his students' excuse in order to read his orange book without Shizune and Tsunade-sama's heckling. After all, someone had to be at the gate to meet them when they returned.

The fact that he spent most of that time staring blankly at the memorial stone probably hadn't escaped anyone's attention. The attack had stirred up bad memories of the war.

He tuned out Gai, who was ranting about something he had done or hadn't done concerning Sakura.

In order to distract the other jounin, who was really ruining the encounter between Kazuya and Masa, he asked, "So who's your bet for first back?"

He'd avoided the subject during the mission for just this reason. When Gai struck a pose, he thought, _Oh boy._ "It will be Lee, of course! He has the full force of power and youth backing him! He will never be deterred!" He could almost imagine flames roaring behind Gai as he clenched both his fists, striking out in a quick one-two combination.

_Yep, that's what I thought. _"Sasuke won't lose to him."

Gai immediately assumed what Kakashi thought was supposed to be a cool pose, wagging his finger at him. "I think you overestimate your protégé. He has none of the conviction of youth, unlike Naruto. Now that's a young ninja who appreciates the power of youth. Between him and Lee, your Uchiha doesn't have a chance."

"So you think Sasuke will come in second, do you?" Kakashi asked, his attention already wondering back to the petal-pink lips of Masa, which Kazuya had been thoroughly investigating.

He was surprised out of the scene by Gai's answer. "Hmm, as much as I do not wish to go against my own youthful kunoichi, I think Neji and Sakura will return second."

Kakashi blinked. "Why them?" he asked. _The Hyuuga boy is a prodigy, but Sakura's strength doesn't lie in her stamina. If this was a test, I'd wager money on her over any of the gennin, but their mission was in Earth. If they go at her pace, it'll take them the full week. _

When Gai assumed a superior look, Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed. "Ah, you must be going blind in your old age, my rival," Gai crowed, "in order to not to notice the blossoming of your youthful flower."

_Sakura had seemed different_, he admitted to himself. _But with the chaos in the aftermath of Orochimaru's and that battle with Itachi, we haven't had a lot of training time. She _did _try something at the hospital, but that was genjutsu, not taijutsu. But then again there was that time during the attack and later with Sasuke. _

"What are you talking about Gai?"

"Her training, of course," Gai said. "The Proof of a Youthful Heart Grand Taijutsu Five Nations Challenge!"

"The what?"

"The Proof of-."

Kakashi cut him off. "I heard you the first time. I'm asking what this challenge was."

"Young Sakura-chan and I trained together during the month lapse between the second and third part of the exam. Her chakra control abilities and youthful fighting spirit meant that we made good progress in the basics of four styles."

_ Ah. That would explain it. _"What about the fifth style? Or is the name of the challenge a misnomer?"

"No, Sakura was doing some training with the Sandaime at the same time. He was starting her in Tsunade-sama's taijutsu style."

Kakashi was fairly certain his eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline. _Sakura, what have you been doing? _Then a heartbeat later, _But it is impressive. You've always known how to play to your strengths Sakura, but finding not one but five taijutsu styles that play to your control? That's more than just luck. _His visible eye narrowed. _And now that you've found your determination, I'll bet that's not the only thing you've been doing. What have been up to while I haven't been watching?_

He'd never pushed his kunoichi student because he'd been waiting for her to find her own motivation, because she had to _want_ the training. But there was also the fact that Kakashi simply didn't know how to handle his only female student-he hadn't been on a team long and Rin had already been trained in basic medical ninjutsu by the time he'd met her. Women were baffling creatures to begin with and being kunoichi only made them more dangerous and unpredictable, not less. Sakura seemed determined to live up to that.

Now he'd have to pay attention to her.

Movement in the forest below caught his eye. Two ninja were approaching Kohoka quickly, one leaping from branch to branch in the usual way, the other moving erratically below but coming just as fast. Catching a flash of pink, his curiosity was roused. That couldn't be- "Gai," he said dryly, "I think we were both wrong."

"What is it?"

Kakashi used his _Icha Icha_ to point. "I think that's Squad Three coming now."

Gai leaned over the side of the wall, shading his eyes with his hands like he was lookout on some ship, "Indeed it is, my youthful rival. Well spotted. Shall we surprise them?" he asked.

Kakashi leaned on the wall, looking down on the gennin. They'd passed the tree line but were still running full out, almost horizontal to the ground in full shinobi style. "Are they being chased or are they just in a hurry?" he asked rhetorically, looking askance at Gai when he seemed to consider the question.

It was answered quickly enough when the gennin reached the gate, the Hyuuga slapping it with the flat of his hand. "I win," he panted.

Sakura staggered to the side of the dirt path and collapsed onto her bottom in the grass. "You win," she agreed a moment later between gasps.

Kakashi and Gai sweatdropped in concert. Leaping off the wall, they appeared before their students.

"Racing, Sakura?" Kakashi asked his student.

"Yep," she said, looking incredibly enthusiastic despite being sweaty and her arms trembling under her weight.

Kakashi tilted his head slightly to the side. _Something is different. _"Sakura, did you cut your hair?"

She smiled. "Thanks for noticing, Kakashi-sensei," she chirruped.

He turned his attention to the Hyuuga prodigy, who was still leaning against the gate, his usual stiff posture gone as he tried to catch his breath. "Looks like you've worked him hard," he observed slyly.

Sakura scowled at the insinuation, but didn't otherwise react.

Kakashi was a little disappointed. His students were always adorable when they were calling him a pervert. _Except when they did it in public. In the middle of a crowded street. _Kakashi frowned. Perhaps his students weren't so adorable.

"You were able to complete you mission?" Gai asked.

"Yes, Gai-sensei," the Hyuuga boy answered.

"Any trouble?" Kakashi asked and the two gennin exchanged a telling look.

"We ran into some Iwa-nin," Sakura admitted.

"Or rather they were following us," the boy clarified. _What was his name? _

Gai looked unconcerned. "But the power of youth prevailed, eh?"

Neji, that was his name, looked at Sakura again. "We came up with a plan and ambushed them."

"Naruto-style ambush or ninja-style ambush?" Kakashi asked his student.

"Ninja-style," Sakura said, a small smile tugging at her lips as she apparently remembered Naruto's idea of an ambush, which involved lots of yelling and announcing his presence dramatically.

"It went well?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sakura said softly, "it went well."

_That kind of well, huh? _ "Well," he said, flipping _Icha Icha_ back open to his page, "let's go make your report to the Hokage."

Neji straightened his posture as Sakura picked herself off the ground. Kakashi let Gai and his student lead the way and he wasn't surprised when Sakura hung back to walk next to him. Reaching out, he ruffled his student's pink hair. "Good job," he congratulated her, "on your first mission without a jounin-sensei."

She smiled at him and he felt a moment of guilt. Sakura had just been so _normal_ compared to her teammates, it had been easy to assume she'd follow if he could get Sasuke and Naruto to come to an understanding. "So, about your training," he said, "when were you going to tell me that you trained with Gai?"

Sakura blushed an even deeper red, the color sweeping across already flushed cheeks. "Well...," she demurred, "I wanted to tell you, but other things just kept happening."

Kakashi thumped her gently on the head with his open book. "Next time, tell me. Just katas won't cut it-I'll change around our sparring schedule so you get more time with Naruto. You can have at it with his shadow clones."

She glanced up at him hopefully. "You're not angry?"

"Why would I be angry? You saw an opportunity and made the most of it. That's what being a shinobi is." He was a little hurt, certainly, but he understood that he hadn't been there for her. She had every right to any training she could get. "So, have you decided what to focus on?"

Sakura nodded. "I know I won't be able to get to where Sasuke and Naruto are, but I thought I'd focus on my stamina, speed, and stealth. I can augment my muscles with chakra, so I don't need strength training as much. For taijutsu, there's Gai-sensei's five-style taijutsu, which means I can be flexible and responsive to any combat situation. I'm working at genjutsu, but I think it's a pretty natural extension-I mean, I'm really a paper ninja. Genjutsu is the most intellectual of the three ninja schools."

"I need help at mid-range combat. My weapons skills are only average, so I need another advantage at that, besides just practice. Poison, maybe? Some of the gennin at the Chunnin Exams were using poisoned weapons. I've been studying anatomy texts, but I'm still not good enough to really make use of most of it. I really don't know about ninjutsu. I don't even know my elements and Sasuke and Naruto are both good at it, so maybe it would be better for the team if I didn't focus on it..." her voice trailed off and Kakashi realized she wasn't even having the conversation with him anymore.

But it was an extremely realistic assessment of her skills and she seemed to have a plan, one that he wasn't even sure involved him. He reached out to her again, resting his hand on her head. She turned to look at him. "Hey Sakura, leave something for sensei to do, alright? You don't have to learn everything all at once. It's okay to take your time."

Sakura looked up at him and her eyes seemed suddenly old. The illusion disappeared and suddenly she was twelve again. "Of course you'd say that, Kakashi-sensei," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

He mussed her hair again. "Respect your sensei," he teased.

"Okay," she agreed, smiling mischievously. "Hey, Gai-sensei!"

_It was good to know one of his students was happy. _

Every muscle below her neck ached, but Sakura felt _good. _She'd lost her race to Neji, but she'd finished it, and Kakashi-sensei had actually _looked_ at her for once. Orochimaru and Amanozko were silent and she'd beaten Sasuke and Naruto's squads back. Even their mission had gone off without a hitch.

She stood in the Hokage's office, facing Tsunade-sama, who still seemed amused by the whole competition. Shizune stood to her left and smiled encouragingly at them. "Report," she ordered them. "The mission's not over until you give your report."

Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei were flanking the door behind them, allowing them to stand in the center of the floor by themselves.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Neji said, which made the blonde roll her eyes. By agreement, Neji was going to give the report because he was older. "After we left with the item, we successfully crossed the border without trouble."

"Did you enjoy the festival? I think the outpost town near Earth was holding their founding festival. They always have good sake and I recommend the squid."

Neji faltered slightly in his report and Sakura giggled. "Yes, we enjoyed the festival," he said stiffly. "After we crossed the border, I noticed we were being followed."

"How many?" Tsunade asked, suddenly serious.

"Nine Iwa-nin, none more than gennin level. We didn't engage them directly-Sakura's plan to ambush them silently during the night was successful. I guided her with my Byakugan and she took care of five of them before the others noticed. She killed two more after we were detected and I killed the last two myself."

Sakura winced inwardly, but managed to control her facial reaction to having the whole situation attributed so directly to her planning.

"We then reached Surotaiga and made contact with Kioshi-san. The item was delivered successfully. We encountered no problems on our return."

Tsunade-sama's brow rose. "Very concise Hyuuga, but you might work on your story-telling skills for the future. For example, I'm still interested in your ambush. How was Sakura able to infiltrate the camp without alerting anyone?"

"I've been working on my stealth skills," Sakura offered. "And the situation wasn't favorable to open confrontation."

Neji confirmed it with a nod.

Tsunade-sama shook her head and snorted. "Who taught you how to give mission reports? Where's the drama and the tension?"

The gennin exchanged a lost look.

"This is your first mission without your jounin-sensei and you don't want to brag about it at least a little? I won't be so patient when you're telling me about your B- and A-class missions, unless you've got something really juicy." She crossed her hands under her chin and leaned forward. "So hit me with it."

"There's not much to tell, Hokage-sama," Neji protested.

Tsunade-sama rolled her eyes. "Boys. Only two ways-they never shut up or they've got a stick shoved so far up-" she cleared her throat and censured herself. "Alright, Haruno, give me a better story than your partner."

So Sakura gave her the play by play, the goldfish scene causing Tsunade-sama to give Neji a meaningful look that made him blush slightly, the tips of his ears turning red; only stumbling when it came to the attack. Neji helped her out there, relaying his side of the story. He'd seen everything with his Byakugan. When she finished with their race to the gates, the Hokage was laughing.

"Oh, the two of you are so cute together," she said, wiping away a stray tear. "Never let it be said innocence is dead among our youth." Struggling to arrange her features more seriously, she told them, "Good job. You're dismissed, but I expect you to turn in a formal written report for this."

Bowing, the gennin headed for the door. When it shut behind them, leaving their jounin-sensei to conference with the Hokage, Sakura looked at Neji.

He shook his head and indicated they should walk further from the door and the guards. When they were safely away, Sakura giggled. "Did you see the sake bottle hidden behind the stacks of paperwork?"

"It's unbecoming of a Hokage," Neji replied, then sighed. "I don't know how I could have missed it. Shizune-san was glaring at it the entire time we were in the room."

Sakura shrugged. _Coping _was something she understood. Inner-Sakura had partially been the product of coping. Alcoholism wasn't that uncommon in shinobi, especially those who had participated in the wars.

Glancing at her temporary teammate through bangs stringy with sweat, she encouraged herself. _You've already got permission to use his name. How hard could this be? _"Neji-san," she said, drawing his attention. "Even when this squad is dissolved, would you mind sparring with me?"

"Is that all?" he asked. "By the look on your face, you'd think you were about to ask for my firstborn."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very mature," he commented. "I suppose that means you don't want to spar with me tomorrow."

Sakura protested and he smiled, that faint quirking of the lips again.

_Congratulations, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru said. _You've added a second doujutsu to your pieces. Perhaps you should return and play another game. The outcomes are sure to be interesting. Who will you eliminate among your pieces to make room? I'll take care of it and set the board. _

_ I thought you said life was like shougi. _

_ If you would prefer to play shougi, I can pull the board from your memories. So many of those attached to the game. For years, that was how you 'spoke' to your father, wasn't it? If it wasn't for shougi and go, living with your father would be like living with a stranger. _

_ That's not true, _Sakura said, though she knew it almost was.

Orochimaru laughed and a peculiar sensation of a heavy weight curling around her shoulders passed through her body. _Always a delight, Sakura-chan. I'll leave you to your play. _

Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei were walking down the hall toward them.

"Sakura," Kakashi-sensei said, " you look tired. Perhaps you want to rest instead of train?"

Sakura frowned at her sensei. She was tired, true, exhausted even, but this would set a bad precedent. "I am not going to be overlooked so you can read, _sensei,_ and besides you've probably read that _Icha Icha_ twice already."

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "At least eat something first," he ordered.

"Alright. And then you train me, right?"

"Sure, sure," he said, waving her off as he walked out of the Tower.

Sakura stared after him with narrow eyes. "I can't tell if he's just going to be seriously late or skip training altogether," she muttered, then brightened. "Gai-sensei, can you tell me where Kakashi-sensei lives?"

Gai-sensei cheerfully gave her directions to Kakashi-sensei's apartment. "You should know that until the others return, you will be continuing your youthful partnership. Never fear, we'll find you some missions to occupy your time until your teammates return!" He formed the handsigns for a teleportation jutsu and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura and Neji left the Tower together. "At least there's no need for victory ramen," she muttered as she stretched.

"You have a habit of talking to yourself," Neji said pointedly.

_You have no idea. _"Twice is not a habit," she defended herself.

"Oh?"

"It's not," she said. "What does your team do for celebration when they finish a mission?" Though if they were going by her own standards, twice was about the grand total of times Team Seven had celebrated with victory ramen. Communication and team-building weren't their strengths.

"More training, usually," Neji said dully.

"Really?" Sakura asked curiously. "Even you and Tenten-san? Gai-sensei and Lee-san are in a league of their own."

Neji shrugged. "We sometimes go out to eat," he admitted.

"Ah," Sakura said. "Well, it was fun. I'm going to go eat something, then go bug Kakashi-sensei about training. See you tomorrow?"

"If you aren't going to eat ramen," he said the final word with faint distaste, "I'll join you for dinner."

"Really?" Sakura asked with surprise.

"I would not have said it if I did not mean it," Neji said. "It's a team celebration after all." He smirked suddenly. "And we did beat the Uchiha and Lee."

"We did," Sakura agreed, smiling broadly as that sunk in. "Where do you prefer to celebrate your victories, Hyuuga-sama?"

Sakura arrived early at the training field, even though she still felt sluggish and sore. Kakashi-sensei had been there for training the night before, thought it wasn't fair to say he was on time. To Sakura it looked like he'd gone directly to their training ground after leaving the Tower and had been reading there ever since.

He'd mostly evaluated her skills, forcing her to demonstrate her taijutsu proficiency on his shadow clones. Then he'd made her attempt to sneak up on him with predictable results. In other words, Kakashi-sensei had read and more or less trampled on her shinobi pride as she barely made him look up from his page.

Sakura scowled at the memory. She'd halved her usual morning run so she'd have some energy for her match with Neji. Her self-inflicted genjutsu had deepened her chakra reserves but done nothing for her stamina.

_Boys have all the advantages, _she complained to Orochimaru. _Greater lung capacity and better hair. _

_ And you only manage to have the sex appeal of a prepubescent boy with none of the advantages. Is there no justice in the world, Sakura-chan?_

_ Shut up, _she shot at him, though she knew she'd been asking for that one.

The training grounds looked lonely in the morning light, the three wooden pillars standing like sentinels in the empty field. It was the first time she'd been here alone, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't show up, followed later by Naruto and much later by Kakashi-sensei. Sakura rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to shake off the chill.

_ Feeling like you don't belong, Sakura-chan?_ Orochimaru asked in mock-sympathy.

_ No. I belong here, just as much as anyone. _

_ You think that. Naruto-kun thinks that, though he'd think that of anyone. It's Kakashi's job to think you belong here. But what of Sasuke-kun? _

Sakura snorted aloud. _Do you really think I'm going to base my self-image off what _Sasuke _thinks of me? I'm not that Sakura anymore. I'm not afraid anymore. _

_ Aren't you? You should be, Sakura-chan. Just look inside. I'm not the only thing in here. You may not hear Amanozako, but I can see her struggle. She's working herself free. Better shore up your will before the next time you spill blood, or you'll find more on your hands than a single Iwa-nin's. _

_ Noted, _Sakura said bitterly. She remembered.

_ Better brush up on your genjutsu while you're at it, Sakura-chan. All this beautiful destruction in your head is going to waste._

_ Let it all burn, _was her response.

A/N: Yet another reason I like this Sakura better. She knows the meaning of self-worth.

Also, there is a poll in my profile page concerning Sakura's summons. If you don't want to go through the trouble, you can always leave your preference in your review. I believe the options I provided were fox, crow, horse, and tiger, though I am also open to suggestions.


	13. Meeting of the Minds REDUX

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't have to be publishing fanfiction about it. Because, you know, I'd be writing it. Yeah.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and the great feedback you've been leaving about Sakura's summons.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirteen-

A Meeting of the Minds

Sakura was meditating on the central post in training ground three. Attempting it, at any rate. Orochimaru was even worse than Inner-Sakura. For reasons unknown to her both he and Amanozako had kept silent during the mission with Neji, but when they'd parted ways he'd re-emerged with a vengeance. She'd yet to sense Amanozako, but Orochimaru seemed determined to make her interference unnecessary.

It was like she could feel something _slithering _inside her brain. She was trying to explore and expand her chakra reserves, flooding her coils until they reached their capacity. Any more and she'd begin to cause damage to her internal organs. Just below the level where she'd managed to hemorrhage her brain before.

_Oh, but that was such a fun time, Sakura-chan. So many games, so much time to play them in, _Orochimaru commented.

Sakura gave up her pretense even though she didn't open her eyes. _Treating my friends like chess pieces was not fun and never will be. _

_ It's that attitude that will give you the will to protect Konoha to keep them safe, but your ability to use them so effectively is what will make you great. Are you so certain we should let Naruto-kun become Hokage? You have the balance that he lacks. _

_ Either way I don't think I can _let_ anyone become Hokage. _

_ See, Sakura-chan? I'm finding the chinks in your armor. Someday I'll find a hole big enough to slither through._

_ And something will be waiting on the other side to chop your head off like the common garden snake you are. _

_ Testy, Sakura-chan. You know if it's not me, it will be someone or something else. Your ability to assimilate your fractured personalities is in doubt. If anything, we are becoming more real._

_ But I'm still me. Nothing and no one will control my mind but _me.

_That was never in any doubt. After all, all of us are _you. _And wouldn't that be a delight, Sasuke-kun and Amanozako after he's betrayed your precious, beloved Konohagakure. _

_ Sasuke won't betray Konoha. _

_ Unless you make it so that he cannot, it's an inevitable outcome, Sakura-chan. All the scenarios end like that. _

_ Lies, _Sakura said, her nails digging into her knees.

_ And do you really believe that? _he chuckled. _Remember, Sakura-chan, you can try to lie to yourself, but can't lie to me. The next time we play, Sasuke-kun's piece will be on my side. _

_ Then I'll destroy the board. _

_ I only wish you would, Sakura-chan. Because what you do in here reflects what you are capable of out there. _

"Sakura," someone's voice snapped her out of the argument. She was surprised to find she was no longer on the center post, but instead standing some distance from them in the middle of the training ground.

She blinked and turned to face Neji, who'd arrived for their spar. _How did I get over here? _flashed through her mind, but Neji was looking at her expectantly so she shoved her confusion aside and answered. "Ah, hello Neji-san," she greeted.

"Good morning," he said. "You looked like you were lost in your thoughts."

_Very lost, apparently. _"Yeah," she answered, because she didn't know what else to say. _Why didn't I notice that I'd moved? _A whisper of suspicion crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. 

"So, who attacks first?" Sakura asked as she fell into the opening stance of Crane Dance. With the notable exception of Shifting Sands, it was the closest to the Hyuuga Gentle Fist technique.

Neji fell into his own low stance, hand extended and palm open. "It doesn't matter. Either way, I'm going to win."

Sakura acknowledged the point, but she attacked first anyway. Just before she came into his striking range she switched into Tsunade's style, flaring her chakra in her fist and letting it explode into the ground. His silver-white eyes went wide before a cloud of dust and shifting earth stretched between them.

By the time the dust settled Sakura had retreated into the bushes, cloaking her chakra and smothering her presence and breath. _Going to have to think of a name for this technique, _she thought to herself.

Keeping low and silent she skittered through the undergrowth, then scaled a tree on the other side of the battlefield. Running along a branch that stretched over the clearing she filled her hands with kunai from her holster. _It probably won't work...but it'll be fun. _

She threw them and as expected Neji used his rotation technique to send them flying back at her. The branch swayed as Sakura leaned out of the way, but she didn't retreat. Neji looked straight up at her on her perch and she waved. And dropped the kunai with the explosive tag attached, straight down on his head.

When the force of the explosion made her fall from the branch she acknowledged she needed a better strategy. _Or better explosive tags. Less smoke and more force. Or opponents without doujutsu, that'll work too. _

Picking herself off the ground and dusting off the bottom of her shorts, she assessed the problem that was glaring at her.

Neji was different than either Sasuke or Naruto. She didn't know his weaknesses well enough to goad him into attacking and she didn't think that approach would work in any case. _Control, thy name is Hyuuga Neji. _

That was only on an emotional level. He was also faster and stronger than her teammates. _Why had this seemed like a good idea? _

_ You wanted to test your capacity for destruction, _Orochimaru whispered and Sakura shook her head. That wasn't right. _Test her capacity _was right, but the rest of the sentence didn't fit the situation. Of course, because Orochimaru was Sakura and Sakura was crazy, it was an easy leap to say that Orochimaru was also crazy. Analyzing the voice in her head only proved it.

Apparently tired of waiting Neji closed the distance between them and it became a game of not-there as Sakura used her experience in the Shifting Sands style to dodge most of Neji's strikes. Clutching at her left arm, Sakura gritted her teeth bought herself range with a punishing kick high on Neji's ribs.

The moment was all she needed to retreat, prodding at the closed points with her chakra. From what she understood of Gentle Fist, there were two ways the points could be struck. One closed them completely, the other opened them beyond their normal capacity, flooding the area with chakra. Both could do significant internal damage.

It only took a moment of analyzing to realize Neji had been right. Without fatal force in her primary taijutsu, she couldn't bring this battle to an end. Neji was a close-range fighter, but his rotation protected him too well from mid-range projectiles for Sakura to take advantage with her limited skills. Her stealth wouldn't hold up against the Byakugan yet.

Sakura clenched her good hand. If this was the chunnin exams she would give up now before he did more damage. But this wasn't a test of her battle analysis.

_Can't give up now, _she thought as she closed the range again, cycling chakra to increase her speed and strength. In her left arm she simply rerouted the chakra, clumsy and inefficient, but it would work for what she had in mind.

The surprise of her sudden speed was just enough for her to sweep aside his reaching hands, and she went low with her hand full of shuriken, spinning on her heel as she released them. Neji was forced to defend, striking them out of the air with another technique she was too busy taking advantage of to catch its name. As he struck down the last one Sakura caught both his arms at the wrist, pulling them out to the sides, which brought their bodies flush together.

Hooking an ankle behind one knee she brought them both down, but she was careful that her weight came down on him as painfully as possible. Cycling chakra to her muscles for enhanced strength she held him down awkwardly as he bucked half-heartedly beneath her. Hearing his gasps, she realized she'd managed to knock the breath out of him and she smirked at her small victory.

"Let go," he threatened when he could speak again.

"No," Sakura said, still riding high on the adrenaline.

"You know, this looks just like what happens on page 67 of _Icha Icha Bondage_," a familiar voice said from somewhere behind them.

Sakura sighed and let her head fall forward, where she encountered the solid expanse of Neji's chest. Flushing lightly, she released Neji's wrists and stood. Stepping to one side, she offered him a hand that he took and pulled himself up with.

_Nice, very professional, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru commented. _Somewhere in here the remnants of Inner-Sakura are simultaneously blushing deeply and squealing in fangirl rapture for you. _

"Did you need something, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked tiredly.

He held his hands up. "Don't let me interrupt."

"Kakashi-sensei...," Sakura warned him.

It was Kakashi-sensei's turn to sigh. "You're no fun, Sakura. I came to tell you both that Gai has left on another mission, but he expects to be back before the projected arrival date of the other squads. I was just leaving, but the Hokage told me that she wants to see you in her office. I think you're being assigned another mission. Good luck," he said, then disappeared in a teleportation jutsu.

Neji blinked at the empty space he left behind. "Does he do that often?" he asked at last.

"No," Sakura admitted. "Must be a phase."

He nodded slowly. "I believe I prefer youth."

Sakura shot him a disbelieving look. "Right," she drawled at last. "Let's go see what Tsunade-sama has for us."

It turned out to be a short courier mission that would only take them out of the village overnight. It was C-rank again, but this time it went smoothly and they didn't encounter any resistance. It was helped by the fact that none of the deliveries took them across or even near to the borders. They camped outside and Sakura saw a shooting star, which was the most remarkable thing about the entire trip. Even the villages they visited weren't all that distinctive, but they'd hardly had time to look.

Neji wanted to get them back to the village before their teammates arrived and Sakura agreed, but even though they pushed themselves they agreed that was a hopeless prospect. So they slept in and took their time with the last two deliveries, strolling back to Konoha in a stark contrast to their earlier rush.

Neji even waited while she stopped and bought tea at a roadside stand. The sencha was acceptable, but the kusa mochi's texture was excellent and complimented the flavor, even though Neji had commented that it was a little late seasonally for the snack, as it was now early summer.

That had prompted a raised brow from Sakura. "You're the kind of person who is bothered when people serve unseasonal dishes, aren't you."

"Hn," Neji replied, neither confirming nor denying it, but Sakura thought he looked a little amused by her observation.

As they passed the gates, having been waved on by the chunnin guards, Sakura sighed. "So, what are the odds that everyone else has been back for hours and Naruto's going to make a big fuss over having beaten you?"

"It's very likely." A small smile tugged at a corner of his mouth. "But that might make his look of crushing defeat even better, once he realizes how badly he lost."

_Guess Neji hasn't entirely forgotten about losing to Naruto in the final round,_ Sakura thought wryly. Despite being from a branch family, Neji had the pride of a clan heir—unsurprising, considering how closely related he was to the main family. And, from what she'd seen, his mastery of the distinctive Hyuuga jutsu far surpassed his cousins as well.

Sakura's prediction was realized when, almost the moment they came through the door, Naruto had pointed at them dramatically and crowed, "You're last, believe it!"

"Maybe you should be careful what you believe, Naruto. Your eyes might mislead you," Neji taunted.

Sometimes Neji showed the strangest flair for the dramatic. Sasuke was smirking on the other side of the room, so she assumed that he'd arrived before Squad One. "I don't know about Naruto, but you can't fool my eyes, Hyuuga," Sasuke remarked.

"Guess today just wasn't your day, Neji," Tenten offered, but she was visibly proud of her team's accomplishment.

Curious as to why Lee hadn't commented, Sakura was startled to see him with his face screwed up and fists clenched at shoulder height. "I won," he said to himself.

Sakura could almost hear Neji roll his eyes.

Kakashi stepped away from the wall and closed his book. He clapped twice to get their attention. "Alright. Enough. Tsunade-sama will officially announce the results."

A/N: Review and make an author very happy. It's fairly short this time, because next chapter we get to that awful mission in Tea that I really have very little desire to write about but is necessary for the advancement of the plot. Geh.


	14. Team Seven: Reunited but Divided REDUX

Disclaimer: I, EvilIsARelativeTerm, do not have the honor of possessing Naruto. I do not profit from writing this, except for some emotional gratification when I get good reviews.

A/N: ...You have no idea how painful it was to resist the temptation to gloss over this mission again, but it needs to happen because I put the rooftop fight in earlier (so this is serving as the point where Sasuke begins to realize his teammates are not, despite all the not-effort Kakashi put into it, incompetent weaklings). And I watched the dubbed version to refresh my memories, so ignore it if some of Idate's lines sound stilted. That has to do with the translators.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Fourteen-

Team Seven: Reunited but Divided

Under the watchful hazel eyes of the Hokage, the three teams of two were assembled. If the look in her eye was anything to go by, Tsunade was enjoying this bet as an excuse for not tackling the mounting piles of paperwork that crowded her desk. "First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on the successful completion of your missions."

"Skip all that, baa-chan and just tell us who won," Naruto demanded.

Sakura frowned. It was one thing be on familiar terms with the Hokage, but outright disrespect was another. Especially in front of an audience, even if they were his peers. In fact, if she looked back, Naruto had been just as pushy when it came to the Third. _How does he expect people to respect him, if he cannot show the proper respect in return? _Especially to those few people who had dealt with him without prejudice since the beginning. Though she'd lately been letting her relationship with her parents disintegrate, she had been raised in the tradition of mutual obligation. Which is what made her eye twitch when he spoke to the Hokage like that, though she heard Orochimaru scoff at the thought of respecting either the third or the fifth.

Judging by Neji's scowl, he shared a similar sentiment.

Come to think of it, that was another of the things Kakashi-sensei had failed to impress upon them. Chain of command often went out the window on Team Seven's missions, pushed inside in favor of what she supposed was a cooperative spirit. While it may not have affected them negatively in the past, or rather, no one had died from it yet, that could be attributed directly to Kakashi-sensei's sheer prowess.

But she didn't have long to dwell on it, because after glaring at Naruto for the interruption Tsunade-sama resumed her speech, "As I was saying, congratulations. I've decided," she said with a dangerous smile, "since Naruto-baka seems so eager, that we'll do a little performance assessment before I officially announce the results. After all, with both Squad One and Two returning at almost the same time, though from different gates, this will build the anticipation a little."

That surprised Sakura, but then she grinned. This had to be killing Naruto and Sasuke.

"Squad One, while I was expecting," and she glared at Naruto, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "that your run wouldn't go exactly as planned, I demand that you submit a report that does not begin and end with the words, 'Left for mission. Met some sort of bandit dude who wanted to take over a village. Not really a bad guy in the end. But we made it anyhow so I guess that doesn't matter, right baa-chan?' Didn't Kakashi ever teach you how to write a mission report?"

Simultaneously the three members of Team Seven turned incredulous looks toward their sensei. He didn't seem bothered by their attention, simply smiling behind his mask. "That's covered in the Academy curriculum, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said glibly. "I was certain that my _talented_ subordinates wouldn't need a refresher course."

Tsunade blinked, obviously unconvinced by his reasoning. "Well, anyway, Squad One was able to successfully complete their mission within the assigned time frame. However, I would recommend following Squad Two's example in the future. Their employer was apparently quite impressed with both their performance and their professionalism," she stressed the last word.

That made Naruto scowl, while Sasuke smirked, ever so slightly. Sakura noticed that while Lee held himself with a tension that would have made her liters snap, both Tenten and Neji, though they must have been just as anxious, presented a much more convincing veneer of decorum. Sakura was slowly beginning to understand why Gai-sensei had not allowed them to participate in the chunnin exams in their first year. Rather than advancing them in rank before they were ready, he'd seen to it they had become well rounded ninja first. While Naruto or Sasuke might have done well on the combat portion of the exam, both were lacking in other necessary skills.

It made Sakura curious. While Kakashi-sensei was no Nara, he was known to possess a sound tactical mind. What had motivated him to nominate them for the exams in the first place? Hadn't he thought that it might put more stress than they could bear on their already strained teamwork abilities?

"Hyuuga, Haruno, in the future you'll need to be more aware of chain of command. While sharing command might work well with only a single partner, if you find yourself in a larger group it'll only make it harder to get things done if no one knows who's giving the orders. Keep it in mind." Sakura nodded, accepting the criticism as fair. She'd seen her own team disintegrate into four people doing their own thing more times than was probably healthy for them. Neji, however, looked slightly miffed at the gentle reminder.

However, when Tsunade-sama fell silent, she watched with interest as the others tensed. "Squad Two, your team returned before Squad One." The wide smirk that broke across Sasuke's face was the equivalent of anyone else leaping for joy, but Sakura was more caught by the almost comic dejection on Naruto's face. Lee quite literally fell to his knees, fisted hands striking against the floor. Sakura was almost certain she heard him say something about the 'failure of youth,' but she was too busy watching Tsunade-sama.

"However," and a sly smile graced Tsunade-sama's face, "Squad Three was back _days_ ago."

"What?" protested Sasuke. Naruto looked as if a single beam of sunlight had shown through the clouds. He could stand losing so long as _Sasuke_ didn't win.

"Why weren't they here when we arrived, Hokage-sama?" Tenten asked more politely.

"Did you expect them to be standing here, waiting patiently for your return, when the reason you were separated into squads of two was because we're currently suffering a shortage of capable ninja?" Tsunade asked her reasonably. "Besides, I couldn't in all good conscience let them have too much fun by themselves with the rest of you gone."

There was a smothered kind of sound from Kakashi-sensei and Sakura shot him a dark look.

"Ha!" Naruto declared, pointing a finger a Sasuke, "You _lost_ teme."

That make Sasuke scowl. "At least I'm not the dead last, like you."

Sakura interfered before any more inane name-calling made her want to hurt her teammates. They were acting like it had only been a race between the two of them, instead of three teams. And even if she would have been negligible only months before, Neji at least deserved the recognition.

_ They are blind to everything but what they wish to see_, Orochimaru hissed. _Naruto will continue to chase the light and Sasuke the darkness, but they will both be equally blind to the reality of the world. _

_And what reality is that?_ Sakura demanded.

_That good and evil are only invented concepts and morality is only an excuse for cowardice._

_ I don't think you and I live in the same world,_ Sakura replied. _Evil is real and it keeps whispering in my ear._

That made Orochimaru chuckle and he fell silent.

"Good job Sakura-chan!" Naruto was congratulating her and she smiled even though he sounded a little sullen.

"It wasn't all me, Naruto," Sakura said, "I had the advantage of having Neji-san as my partner, after all."

Sasuke stared hard at Neji. "So everything went smoothly Hyuuga?" he asked.

"Very smoothly," Neji answered with chilling politeness. "Sakura-san and I work well together."

"Yosh!" Lee declared. "Next time I will work harder, so that I make be Sakura-chan's partner and defeat you!"

Neji sighed. "You can't defeat me, Lee."

Tenten sighed, a hand going to her hip. "You win again Neji," she conceded.

Gai-sensei clapped his hands together, drawing their attention. "All of you did well!" he congratulated them. "With this you have taken another step forward in your journey of youth!"

After that there was only the usual mission debriefing, Tsunade asking only briefly about their second mission. When they'd been dismissed, Sakura walked outside, stretching her arms high above her head and making the vertebrae in her back pop satisfyingly.

"So, how'd you get back so fast Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sakura debated for a moment. "Speed training," she told him at last, leaving out the when and who of it.

Just as she expected, Sasuke eyed Kakashi-sensei with skepticism, obviously doubting that he'd take _Sakura_ aside for special training. Sakura swallowed down the urge to brag about her accomplishments with difficulty. "The truly accomplished allow their actions to speak for them," her father had always told her in the past when she'd boasted of some minor accomplishment that she now looked back on with shame for her insufferable smugness.

And it wasn't as if she didn't trust them. That couldn't be it. _Clever, clever Sakura-chan_, Orochimaru praised her. _Don't let them see through your strategy, because that is the surest way to lose the game._

_ It's not a game_, Sakura hissed back.

_Then why won't you say?_

_ I don't want to have to tell them what they should notice,_ she snapped.

_Oho, so you've become greedy then, Sakura-chan. Now you not only want power, you also desire recognition. A dangerous path for a shinobi to tread. _

_ It's not like I'm wanting to go into some foreign nin's bingo book, I just want my teammates to recognize me as a teammate. That's all I've wanted since the beginning. _

_ You can't lie to me, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru whispered, his presence somehow solidifying again. _Because you cannot lie to yourself. _

-X-X-X-

They'd been assigned another mission without a jounin-sensei, this one a B-rank mission in service of an old friend of Tsunade's in the Land of Tea. It make Sakura nervous and excited to be assigned an actual mission with her team again, because it would be the first time since the chunnin exams.

Naruto and Sasuke walked ahead of her and as she watched them, she felt a frisson of fear. Was this an omen of how all her life would be? That no matter how much strength or stealth or power she had, it wouldn't be enough to allow her to walk in that narrow space between them?

_Sakura-chan, there are better places to walk. One day it will be they who gaze at your back, _Orochimaru promised.

_Equality really isn't an option for you, is it?_

_ Equality is for mundane and unimaginative. It's for fools who believe equality is a state that can be achieved by things that cannot be measured. Human beings are born inherently unequal. _

There was a beat of silence in Sakura's head. _Are you a split personality or a philosopher?_ she asked at last.

_They are not mutually exclusive states. _

"Sakura! Why are you walking all the way back there?" Naruto called over his shoulder.

"Sorry!" she apologized. "I was just thinking." Quickening her steps she caught up to her teammates, walking opposite Sasuke as they flanked Naruto.

Naruto carried the conversation as they made good time towards their destination. "Hey Sakura-cha, are you hungry yet?"

Catching sight of the roadside teahouse that had probably inspired his, Sakura glanced over at her teammate. Compared to the rush of that first mission with Neji, they'd been walking rather sedately. But there was a certain eagerness in Naruto's blue eyes that she couldn't ignore.

"Well, maybe a little," she said coyly.

"Lunch break!" Naruto declared. "And look, what a coincidence! There just happens to be a teahouse!" With that he dashed off. Sakura rolled her eyes but followed willingly.

The nearly traditional restaurant had a pleasant, clean atmosphere. As they seated themselves and the proprietress appeared to take their order, Sakura surveyed the other patrons as the woman obliged her with a recitation of the types of tea she offered. She settled on an imported red tea, as she was uncertain how often a shop this isolated renewed their stock, and red tea could be better stored without losing its robust flavor for much longer. None of the other patrons particularly caught her notice, but there was one, wearing a bamboo hat, who had slightly more cultivated chakra than the others. No more than gennin level though, so she dismissed him as a threat. Despite neither Sasuke nor Naruto having passed the chunnin exam they were more than capable of taking on a lone gennin together.

When her Qi Men arrived, Sakura took a moment to breathe in the steam rising softly from the cup for she took her first sip. It wasn't the best she'd ever had, but it was surprisingly good for little a shop only on the border of tea. When they drew further inland, closer to the ocean, she knew that the variety and quality of imported teas would only increase. She hoped they'd have a little time after the mission to enjoy some Bi Luo Chun or Tieguanyin. Sakura could have it at home, of course, but tea was always better fresh and here in the Land of Tea she could obtain it all but freshly unloaded from the ships.

The anko dumplings, however, were splendid. Enjoying herself, Sakura's eyes flicked irritably up at the patron she'd noticed earlier, who'd stopped by their table on his way out.

The tone of his voice was desultory as he spoke. "Just sitting in the shade, sucking down tea. A ninja's life is pretty cushy."

"Hey, what did you say?" Naruto challenged him.

"I guess you don't get much action in Konoha, judging by how out of shape you look." For the first time he met Naruto's eyes challengingly.

"That does it!" Naruto declared, standing up and slamming his hand down on the table.

Then the stranger glanced down at Sakura. His tone and bearing abruptly changed. "Hey, where'd you come from sweetie? I didn't see you sitting here. I didn't mean you, of course."

Though that sent Naruto into a tantrum, Sakura gave the stranger an even smile. "I'm sure you didn't just imply that I'm not a Konoha ninja," she said pleasantly. "And I'm certain you saw me while you were busy glaring at us from your seat over there."

Eyes widened around the table.

"Now maybe you can introduce yourself. Even a civilian from the Land of Tea wouldn't be _foolish_ enough to approach three shinobi of unknown rank only to look for trouble, ne?" she said, tilting her head slightly to the side with her most disarming smile.

The stranger frowned and Sakura wondered how he had expected her to respond. Was she supposed to thank him for singling her out and implying it was only the ninja at the table he was insulting, a group in which the pink-haired girl wasn't included? At her side Sasuke was giving her a strange look from the corner of his eye.

"I'm Morino Idate," the stranger said at last, attempting on last time to charm her. As he leaning down, putting his arm on their table, Sakura resisted the urge to kick him across the room. "What do they call you?"

And that was how they met their charge. After he foisted his bill on them, they gave chase, which ended fairly quickly. While Idate might have Lee's speed, Sasuke could match it for the short amount of time it took him to retrieve the errant boy. But it was only when they arrive at Boss Jirocho's place that they realized who they'd apprehended.

Though it was difficult to work with Idate's prickly personality, time spent with Naruto naturally seemed to shift his opinion. However, when they were faced with the aqua-haired ninja from Rain, Sakura scowled. It was all well and good that they could track Kakashi-sensei through the familiar woods of their homeland, but now they kept _getting in her way._ It was all well and good to break out their ultimate attacks after only a short stint of combat, but if Chidori or Rasengan even clipped her she was going to be more than just out of the fight.

And Naruto and Sasuke weren't even really working together. If they had any sense at all Sasuke would immobilize the hand holding the sword so Naruto could have an open target, but neither seemed inclined. Seething, Sakura watched as Sasuke was thrown over the cliff.

Clenching her teeth even as she watched him disappear over the side, she grabbed both Naruto and Idate by the collar, almost flash-stepping with her speed around the enemy nin. Nearly tossing them both into the river below, they instinctively grabbed the remaining anchor rope. Flipping upwards into the air just as the sword came crashing down, a well aimed kunai severed the line, sending them flying across the gorge.

"Time to follow Sasuke," Sakura growled as she made eye contact with the enemy. Coming down in imitation of Tsunade-sama's own signature attack, the ground beneath them both began to crumble. Sakura saw him leap forward, but her kunai were already in the air, paper bombs waving behind them like jaunty little tails.

"Katsu!" she hissed as she leaped over the side to avoid the explosion. Tucking her arms in, she saw Sasuke down below. Hoping beyond hope that her rudimentary skills would be enough, Sakura reached into her pack for a thick loop of razor wire. Just before Sasuke's body hit a rock shelf, Sakura managed to snare him in a cradle of wire. Pulling roughly, she managed to slow his descent enough that he wasn't harmed further, though she was certain the wire would bite into any exposed skin. She landed easily next to him, her Breath of Stone technique allowing her to mitigate the worst of the impact.

Looking darkly down at Sasuke's collapsed form, Sakura's eyes narrowed.

_ You could topple this piece before I ever get to put it into play,_ Orochimaru hissed, his presence suddenly curled 'round her throat.

_This is my teammate_, was her reply, but even in her own head her voice sounded strangely flat. And her hand hesitated as she prepared to sling Sasuke's limp body over her shoulders to she could climb up out of the gorge.

_What is dead cannot betray you_, someone's voice whispered.

When they were retrieved Sasuke stared blankly ahead, almost as if he'd never regained consciousness. _What are you thinking, Sasuke?_ Sakura asked herself worriedly.

With her handful of jutsu, she'd defeated the enemy that her teammates had so much trouble with. But that was at the core of Sasuke and Naruto's problem. Both had a kind of ultimate attack that they depended on when basic attacks failed. They were as rigid and inflexible as iron and as easily broken. They could not adapt their skills to a situation, but rather charged ahead and expected different results from the same attack. If Naruto didn't have his monstrous chakra or Sasuke his Sharingan, it would only be a matter of time before someone saw through those attacks and left them dying in the mud.

_I don't have that same stopgap_, Sakura acknowledged. _But am I stronger or weaker for it?_

A/N: Next chapter there occurs a major deviation from the original plotline! Look forward to it!


	15. Two Roads Diverge

Disclaimer: Never have I ever owned the Naruto franchise.

A/N: This is the chapter that diverges wildly from the original story, so once you're done reading, tell me what you think of the change. And, you know, reading the latest chapters of the actual manga make me feel like some of the characters are slipping way into god mode. But Itachi remains beyond awesome, as always. Also, sorry to anyone who's here for the second time. Reposting a chapter entirely is the only way I've figures out to let people know a chapter has been revised—AND IT'S A MAJOR REVISION. So, if this is time two, the first parts the same, but the second that was the time skip has been replaced. I'd ask you to read it, if you don't mind. It's almost long enough to constitute a new chapter anyway, so I thought it wouldn't be too bad.

Chapter Fifteen

-Two Roads Diverge-

Sakura had experienced a foreboding feeling all day. Though life in the village continued on heedless of her unsettled stomach and clammy palms, she couldn't help but think it was a false peace. Eating lunch with Naruto and helping her mother with housework kept her distracted throughout most of the day, but by evening she could no longer stand it.

Perhaps it was insight or intuition that led her to the road she'd taken so few times as Team Seven left for another mission. But as she stood gazing out into the darkness of the forest beyond, a voice came from behind her. "Sakura. What are you doing here?"

A shudder ran across her skin, like someone had walked over her grave. Shaking off the impression, she turned to face her dark-eyed teammate. "Because…" and she searched for a reason she could put into words. "This is the only path out of the village."

Sasuke was silent.

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Sakura asked dully, knowing this was what her subconscious had been trying to tell her all day. It wouldn't be so easy as to just have Orochimaru tell her—he was far more interested in the fall-out that would come with Sasuke leaving than keeping him here. Sakura thought of all the things she might say, off all the bonds she could call upon to tie him up tightly and safely in this village, of all sorts of promises that she might make.

But she couldn't make her mouth form the words to any of them. For a horrific moment she thought Orochimaru had interfered and taken over her body, but then she realized it was only her. Only Sakura. And she had nothing left to say to Sasuke, nothing he shouldn't have understood through a hundred, thousand actions. _I love you _had been brushed away like an irritating fly. And if that couldn't move him, if that strange bond she could barely fit herself into between him and Naruto wasn't enough, what would be?

She wasn't a poet or a speechwriter. Sakura couldn't make the world stop with a sentence, let alone a word. She was a shinobi, polished smooth through her mother and father's lessons, but at the heart of it all she wasn't _Naruto_. Sakura could not make friends wherever she went. She could barely hold on to Ino. All this washed through her mind as she stared at the familiar lines of Sasuke's face.

"Please," was the only word she had left.

Something in his eyes softened for only a moment, then she felt a cool breeze caressing the skin of her back. "Thank you," was the last thing she heard before the world sank into darkness.

As soon as she awoke, events began to happen faster and faster like a great rock rolling downhill. The Hokage was alerted of the Uchiha's defection and a nine-man retrieval squad was assembled. Sakura had asked the Hokage permission to join, but she'd been denied. Past behavioral apparently was enough for Tsunade-sama to consider her unstable where Sasuke was concerned. She'd bit down on the inner wall of her cheek to keep from protesting, then snuck out two hours later. She _would _make a difference.

Sakura had to go slow, but it was easy enough to follow the trail the large squad had left. It was only difficult when she had to circle around to avoid the flares of chakra that told her the others were battling the nin who'd come to escort Sasuke. Every time she was tempted to stay and help, but she remained focused on her goal. Shikamaru had been in charge, after all. He would leave the team members best suited to each battle.

And then, when she realized the Valley of the End was where Sasuke intended to cross the border, she felt it.

Like a butterfly's wing brushing against her cheek, she felt the faltering presence of Neji-san's life force. Before she'd quite realized she'd even moved, her feet sat her down at the boy's side. And though she'd come so far in her training, she couldn't help the gasp that escaped from her throat at the sight of the twisted wound in his chest.

_The medic team will be coming_. But she could see how shallow the rise and fall of his chest was already.

_Sasuke is leaving._ Neji was dying.

It was like being torn in two, when all her decisions could lead to loss. _Why did you have to send gennin after him, even when you knew Orochimaru would move to protect Sasuke-kun?_ she cried to the Hokage who was even now in the village that was about to lose two of its most promising young shinobi. Sasuke-kun was leaving and Neji-san was dying in the attempt to bring him back.

She hadn't felt like this since that mission in Wave, which was almost a lifetime away now. She'd only known Neji for a few short months, but they'd killed together, struggled together, even shared a room in a far-distant inn. Shinobi didn't have the luxury of years and time, but their lifestyle drew deep bonds, forged in a fire of violence. Neji-san had been someone important to her, the teammate she'd needed so she wouldn't make the mistake of slipping back into the cradle that Team Seven had built for her.

Two paths diverged in a green wood. One led to the teammate chasing after power and entrusted the branch clan member to the fate he was so fond of, the other back to Konohagakure, with Sasuke-kun…well, it left Sasuke where he'd chosen to be. When she felt the heat of tears, she knew her decision was already made. She didn't need Orochimaru or Amanozako to tell her what she knew in the deepest places of her soul. Gritting her teeth, she knelt by Neji's side, hot anger surging up her throat.

Tilting her head back, she roared," Sasuke!" For a moment the forest rang with her outrage, her frustration, and her bitter disappointment in the boy she'd once loved with all the furor of adolescence. But then there was an empty silence, reflected in the cold lump that settled in the region of her heart.

Without any further hesitation she slid off her kimono top, leaving her upper body clad only in her chest wrappings, and slit the high-quality silk in broad strips. Packing his wounds, she then bound them as tightly as she dared. Silently apologizing, Sakura gathered Neji into her arms as gently as possible, though his height made it awkward. Circulating chakra to her arms and adjusting his dead weight, Sakura began to sprint back in the direction she'd come. She tried to keep her leaps through the branches as gentle as possible and her vision narrowed until she settled into a numb rocking motion of landings and launches.

She passed the clearing where she'd sensed the others, trees and sky becoming a wild kaleidoscope of color as she used the all the speed she'd gained and then pushed her body beyond it. _Must not stop, must not stop, _was the refrain that drowned everything else out. Perhaps her body might have responded if she'd been attacked, but her brain had closed down. She would not contemplate what she might have been able to do if she'd caught up with Sasuke. If she'd only been a little stronger, a little faster, had known all the right answers to questions her teammate had never asked.

Because, Orochimaru knew. Orochimaru had always known that the only way to save another person was through their own desire to be saved. And Sasuke believed wholeheartedly that to reach out that hand, to ask for help, would destroy him. She'd seen it reflected in his eyes. He might call them worthless, but the moment they began to grow, began to advance in their own journeys, and therefore perhaps be of some help in his, they were no longer teammates. Their skills posed some kind of threat to him that Sakura didn't understand.

_Because he believes if he cannot stand his own, he cannot stand at all. And he would sell his soul for the chance to destroy his brother. _

Sakura shut down her thoughts on that too. Everything else was only a distraction. She only had to get Neji to Konoha, where Tsunade-sama would take over and her part would be done, except for the punishment she expected after violating the Hokage's orders. 

They had all made their decisions. All that was left was to live with them.

As she passed beneath the great gate that she'd once raced Neji-san to, one of the chunnin guards appeared at her side, keeping pace with her speed. "Summon Tsunade-sama," Sakura gasped, "Hyuuga Neji was injured during his mission."

After glancing at the body she carried, the chunnin gave a curt not and disappeared in the smoke of a teleportation jutsu. Sakura was met at the doors of the hospital by a team of medics, who without a word took Neji-san and rushed him off to the operation theatre. Sakura simply stood for a moment as they disappeared from sight, a little stunned at the sudden cessation of movement.

But then her knees gave and she stifled a cry of pain as fire leaped along the nerves in her calves and thighs. She knew without a doubt she'd damaged the muscles in her legs from channeling so much chakra in them, but it would heal. And if Neji-san lived, it would be more than worth the pain.

A nurse came up to her side and with surprise she recognized the woman with the clear grey eyes that had been in charge of her before. "Can you stand?" she asked briskly.

Even simply flexing the muscles caused another wave of pain. Sweat beaded on her forehead. "No," Sakura admitted.

"Right. Kana-chan," she called to another passing nurse, "bring a wheelchair for Haruno-san. We'll get you to a room and as soon as someone's free they'll be in to see you."

"Nn," Sakura murmured. "Could you have someone tell me…."

"About the boy you brought in? It'll be awhile before I can get you an update."

Sakura nodded and allowed herself to be helped into the wheelchair by the two nurses. The room was not the one with the familiar waterstain in the corner she'd spent so much time in before, recovering from Gaara's attack, but there was a sterile sameness to all the rooms that almost made her nostalgic. Because back then there'd been her team, waiting for her when she was ready to back out those doors, but now she was the one waiting. Waiting, for someone to come and tell her that her team would never be whole again.

A medic came in and examined her, healed her legs, but warned her she'd be sore for a few days and left, all without making much of an impression. When he'd left, Sakura curled into herself on top of the sheets, intending to close her eyes for only a moment.

When she opened them, she was standing in a desert with a sky the color of burnt sienna.

"So, you've come here at last," Orochimaru said, a dangerous smile on his face. He extended his hand in a deliberate gesture, turning it so that the palm was up. "Welcome home, Sakura."

Jade eyes widened. "What happened to my body?" she demanded.

"It's lying where you left it. Amanozako is still chained, after all, and I am here with you. Unless you have some more company in here that I haven't met, it's safe enough for the time being."

"Then why am I here?" Sakura challenged. "And where is here?"

Orochimaru sighed, then he was by her side before she could blink. His hand slithered into hers and he pulled her flush against his taller body, that long, inhuman tongue tracing a warm path across her knuckles, the back of her hand, then flicked playfully at the edge of her jaw. "Welcome to the second kingdom," he murmured.

Sakura froze with the shock of the movement. _Why…? _

"You opened the first kingdom in terror, when you faced Uchiha Itachi in battle. You opened the second kingdom when you traveled the path of despair. I always knew that Sasuke-kun would inspire you to great things, Sakura-chan." His golden eyes were disturbingly close. "You know, it isn't too late yet. The trail hasn't grown cold. You could release Amanozako and set her on Sasuke-kun's trail. Though I could not promise what would happen to dear Sasuke-kun when she catches up. I wonder what you would do to him," he said, voice soft and intimate.

It the moment it took for the last of those words to register, Sakura had broken his hold and leaped backward, hand dropping to her kunai pouch only to find herself unarmed. Orochimaru smirked at the movement and Sakura snarled, "I _will not_ release _Amanozako _on my _teammate_."

"He is not longer your teammate, by his own decision. You accepted that decision and returned with the Hyuuga. Sakura-chan, you cannot hide things here, in your mind and in this desert. If you truly wanted to hurt me, you might have provided yourself with weapons. But you did not. Why is that, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's hand clenched at her side.

"Because there is no fight more pointless than struggling with yourself?" Orochimaru suggested.

"That's the most important fight," Sakura said. "Because, as hard as it is to do the right thing, being able to see which of the hundred thousand things is the right one is harder. It would be easy to listen to you," she admitted, "but I can't. Because then I wouldn't be Sakura, I'd be Orochimaru, and I _hate_ you."

That made him chuckle. "You hate the reality of Orochimaru, the person who I represent, but you do not hate _me_. Perhaps, once, but you now depend upon me without hesitation." Even in the murky light of the sky without a sun, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.

Sakura frowned. "If I can't trust the things I find in my own mind, what can I trust?" she said bitterly. "You, at least, I can trust to be a bastard."

"Language, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru chided. Then his eyes focused on something on the far horizon of the barren wasteland. "Perhaps I spoke too soon, Sakura-chan. This kingdom seems home to someone already."

"What?" Sakura spluttered, before she found herself wrapped in Orochimaru's white coils. The reddish sand didn't seem to impede the great snake's progress and in a few moments a massive chain composed of kanji came into sight. "Amanozako is here?" Sakura asked from her perch on his flat head, feeling a chill run down her spine at the memory of her last encounter with the personification of her id. That something so beastly was a part of her wasn't something Sakura was comfortable with.

"Amanozako is still sealed in the first kingdom, but the chains that bind her are in all the kingdoms."

Orochimaru lowered his head as they drew abreast of the chain, which looked wider here than it had in the forest of dead cherry trees. Sakura nearly took a tumble when an eerily familiar person stepped out to greet them. "Haku?" she asked incredulously.

"Hello, Sakura-san," the boy she'd last seen dead in the Land of Waves greeted softly. In answer to her unspoken question, he answered, "You mind was becoming unbalanced. You had only the chains of superego, but your id and ego move freely."

Sakura swallowed. "_Orochimaru _is my ego?"

Haku gave her a soft, gentle smile. "Orochimaru-san is…special, I think. He represents to you the power of choice, whether for good or evil."

Sakura moved closer until she was sitting on the very end of the faintly amused snake's head, legs dangling over the side. She was leery of leaping down because Sakura had never been very fond of sand, even before Gaara had tried to crush her with it. "And what about you? Why are you here?"

"For you, I'm the one who followed orders, even until death, all for my precious person. The only difference between us is that what I considered precious was a single person, while your loyalty belongs to a village. Each of us belongs to that ideal. So I am what you think of when you think of sacrifice, despair, and obedience despite personal feeling." Haku tilted his head to one side, long brunette hair shifting in a well-tended waterfall that only added to his androgyny. "Except for _him_, but I don't think you're prepared to meet him yet."

"So are you going to be talking to me all the time too?" Sakura asked. Haku couldn't be as bad as Orochimaru, but one voice in her head was more than enough.

Haku shook his head. "I am not as fully realized as Orochimaru-san. I cannot move outside the second kingdom. If you were to enter a mediation state, I would be able to speak to you."

Sakura stared at him for a long moment, then glanced at across the homogenous, desolate landscape. "Are you sure you'll be alright here?" she couldn't stop herself from asking, even though she _knew_ he was only a kind of fractured personality.

Again he smiled that faint, gentle smile. "You don't need to worry about me, Sakura-san. But you having descended makes you more vulnerable to Amanozako's influence."

"But Amanozako is chained," Sakura pointed out. "Even Orochimaru said she's still sealed in the first kingdom."

"You've chained her with orders and the expectations of society, but within those bounds she can freely act. For example, on missions." With sudden clarity Sakura remembered the way those last few kills had felt, the way Amanozako had reveled in them. "The deeper in the kingdoms you descend, the more influence she will be able to exert," Haku patiently explained.

Sakura groaned, pulling her knees up to her chin and burying her hands in her hair. "Why is this happening?"

_Perhaps madness runs in your family_, Orochimaru's amused voice came from beneath her. _Like the mad prince of that bedtime story your father told you so long ago._

Sakura snorted without humor. "That's like some kind of bad joke. I'm from a civilian family," she mumbled into her knees, "this kind of thing is supposed to go with bloodlines and crazy clans."

_I am certain insanity is not so limited,_ Orochimaru remarked.

Sakura swallowed down tears of uncertainty and frustration, remembering what was happening in the real world. "How do I wake up?" she asked.

_Worried about the Hyuuga? _Orochimaru prodded. _Even if he has Tsunade herself to preside over his surgery, it will be hours yet before there is news._

"There is an old saying," Haku said thoughtfully, "that if you save someone's life, you become responsible for that person from that point forward. I think Neji-san would be a valuable ally and friend."

_An excellent chess piece_, Orochimaru agreed. Haku sighed but did not correct his insinuation.

"I can't even be responsible for me, let alone someone else. Take me back, Orochimaru," Sakura demanded tiredly. She was not altogether surprised when the body beneath her tensed and she found herself tossed into the air, coming back down into the wide, dark tunnel of the snake's throat.

Sakura bolted upright on her narrow bed, cursing softly when her leg muscles burned.

_Welcome back to the land of the living, _Orochimaru hissed. _Though one could debate whether the worlds you experience in your head are any less real than this reality. You experience and perceive them in the same way, after all._

_I'm not going to have this discussion with you, _Sakura replied, sliding her feet carefully to the floor. She took a few exploratory steps and decided if she went slow, the pain would be bearable and she wouldn't end up in a undignified heap on the floor.

When she made it to the waiting area a helpful floor nurse directed her to, she found it already crowded. "Sakura!" Ino shot up from her seat.

"Ino," Sakura said with some surprise. "What are you doing here?"  
"Me? What are you doing here? And what happened to your legs?" Sakura glanced down at the bandages that covered every inch of skin. Though it hadn't been an external would, the medic had applied some sort of ointment to help keep the healing muscles relaxed, which meant the bandages were more to stop the oddly colored paste from staining the sheets than anything else. Though the support of the tightly wrapped bandages were appreciated by the tired kunoichi.

"I came to see how Neji-san was doing."

That made Ino frown and Sakura was surprised to note how stressed the girl looked. Had something happened to the other members of the retrieval squad? "No one has come out to tell us anything," Ino told her. "Shikamaru, he's alright, but Chouji-," the girl's voice, "he used his family's food pills. He's having a rough time of it," she said quietly. "If it wasn't for Tsunade-sama…."

Sakura swallowed. She knew she shouldn't feel guilt, but it was all for Sasuke that the others were in the hospital now, some hovering on the very brink of death. He'd been her teammate for so long, she couldn't help but feel responsible.

_Especially as you could have stopped him,_ Orochimaru commented.

_What are you talking about?_

A warm weight settled around her shoulders and she couldn't tell if the pressure was from arms or coils. _You could have dodged Sasuke-kun's strike. You could have even taken the initiative and disabled him. Instead you allowed him to leave this village. _

_That's not true!_ Sakura protested.

_Isn't it?_

Sakura went over it again in her head, analyzing her actions. Could she have defended against Sasuke? She wouldn't have won if it had come to a battle, but the noise would surely have attracted someone. Why hadn't she yelled, screamed, fought?

_Why don't you take a look at your own heart to answer that question?_

She was saved from her self-analysis by the sound of a door sliding open. Tsunade-sama, looking more exhausted than Sakura had ever seen her, stepped out. "He'll live," she said shortly to the assembled shinobi, then she swept past, face tight.

She probably had others patients to see to now, thanks to Sasuke.

Sakura lingered as the others slowly dispersed, Ino and Shikamaru to check on Chouji, and Hinata eventually took her leave to look in on Kiba. That left Sakura alone with Hyuuga Hiashi, who'd arrived as the others were leaving. Sakura hung her head and tried not to make eye contact with the stern-looking man.

But she did listen in as a nurse emerged to give the clan head a report. Some of the guilt abated when she heard that he would make a full recovery, but not enough.

She was surprised when Hiashi stopped in front of her. "You're on Hatake Kakashi's team, aren't you?" he inquired.

"Yes, sir," she said in a small voice.

"I have heard that you disobeyed the Hokage's orders in going after your teammate."

Sakura wondered if it were possible to sink into the bench she was sitting on. She was sure there was a jutsu for it. "Yes, sir."

"While I do not advocate disobedience, I am grateful."

Sakura blinked and looked up for the first time. His expression hadn't changed, but those pearlescent eyes that were so difficult to read were clear of anger. "You don't blame me, Hyuuga-sama?"

"Saving someone's life is not usually something one has to take blame for," Hiashi said dryly. "Your teammate's actions are not your own. Do not blame yourself for things you cannot help." As she stared up at the older man, she wondered if he'd learned his own lessons in that.

She was horrified to find tears trailing down her face. "But, Sasuke…."

One of Hiashi's brows raised. "While the Uchiha boy might be the indirect cause of my nephew's injuries, I doubt that brat would have been able to defeat him in open combat. Neji is a prodigy, after all. You should place the blame on Orochimaru and his fiendish experiments. It was only with their unnatural abilities that they were able to defeat Neji."

Sakura nodded, surprised to feel the guilt ebb further. Hyuuga Hiashi was not a man she expected to give comfort, but today had been full of many surprises. "Thank you, Hyuuga-sama."

"I expect I will see you again in the future," the older man said. "It seems that your generation will be an exceptional one."

That brought a kind of struggling smile to Sakura's face.

"They don't think he will wake up soon, so you might wish to go home," Hiashi recommended.

She shook her head, neatly trimmed bangs flashing in front of her eyes. "If it's alright, I'd like to stay," Sakura said. "I have to wait on word about Naruto anyway."

"Hn. As you wish. I believe Hinata has also decided to wait. It was interesting to meet you, Haruno Sakura."

_And you, Hyuuga Hiashi_, she replied silently.

"Rubbing shoulders with clan heads now?" a familiar voice asked.

"Kakashi-sensei! Is Naruto alright? Did…" and her voice faltered as she swiped furiously at her wet cheeks, "did you bring Sasuke back?" The last part was only from a kind of vain hope, rather than conviction. From the moment he'd left the village, Sakura had known he was gone, gone forever. That was why she hadn't demanded any foolish promises of Naruto, no 'Bring him back at any cost' kind of declarations, because she'd known intuitively that the price for all of them would be too high.

For once Kakashi-sensei's eye crinkling smile was absent. "Naruto will be fine," he told her, leaving the rest unsaid and for a moment something too heavy for words hung between teacher and student. Then Kakashi smiled. "You know, it usually takes longer than that for Hiashi to bring someone to tears.

Sakura laughed, but it sounded like she was crying.


	16. When We Walked Together

Disclaimer: As I still haven't made inroads on the Naruto franchise, I suppose I'll just have to be satisfied with writing fanfiction as of yet. Copyright belongs to the appropriate parties.

A/N: This chapter takes place after the time skip, as a heads up. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, both the first and second version. By the way, soundtrack for this chapter was When We Were Young, by Take That.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

Chapter Sixteen

When We Walked Together

Sakura stared across the canyon at the mighty stone visage of the First Hokage, Senju Hoshirama. With one leg pulled up to her chest, the other was allowed to dangle freely over the edge of Uchiha Madara's forehead. Though it had been well over two years since her team had met its untimely end in this kami-forsaken Valley, Sakura still couldn't stop herself from lingering here whenever she crossed the border back into the Land of Fire.

Time had dulled the angry, festering wound that Sasuke had left, but thoughts of the dark-haired shinobi still made Amanozako gnash her teeth and struggle against her bindings. Because when the initial disbelief and despair disappeared, hot anger had rushed in to fill its place. Not for herself, because Sakura knew now that with time she would have forgiven Sasuke. But anger for what he had done to Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, whose bonds with the young Uchiha were different than her own. She had only loved him with the argent, childish infatuation of first love, and no matter how the disappointment of that first love ached it couldn't be compared to what he'd represented to the others.

How much harder would it be on them to know how easily he'd slipped into Orochimaru's fold, becoming the snake sannin's creature, body and soul?

Sakura scowled at the thought of what she'd had to do in order to have access to the reports from the spies various interested parties had placed in Sound. For a ninja that had almost been ignored by her own jounin-sensei after her graduation, the Haruno Sakura of the present had an excess of influential, powerful teachers, not all of whom knew about each other. Because she'd apprenticed herself to very busy shinobi, not a one had the time to teach her in the one-on-one mentorship that Naruto was enjoying with Jiraiya-sama, but the effect of her patchwork education had been more effective than many nins of her acquaintance for the sheer flexibility and diversity of her techniques.

"What do you see when you come here?" Neji's deepened voice asked from behind, breaking her meditative silence.

"Not as much as you," Sakura answered facetiously, but then she grew serious. "All I see when I look out over this place is the past. What was and what might have been."

"In thinking of the past we lose sight of the future."

That startled Sakura into laughter. "Who told you that?"

"Gai-sensei," Neji admitted easily. "But I think that might just be his excuse for forgetting an opponent the moment a fight is over," he finished dryly.

Sakura sighed. "I like to remember the past. I simply cannot allow myself to be devoured by it." So saying, she rose and turned to face her sometimes partner. Despite the years that had passed, Konohanagakure was still struggling to meet the personnel demands of a major Hidden Village after Orochimaru's attack. Tsunade-shishou absolutely refused to rush the training program at the Academy, so there simply weren't enough new shinobi to fill the gap.

It was sound enough reasoning, in its own way, but it meant that smaller, extremely tailored groups were send on missions with much greater frequency, rather than missions being executed in the traditional squad of four. That was reserved for A-rank missions or anything with an ANBU classification.

As two of the village's newest jounin, Sakura and Neji often worked together. With the exception of Naruto, all the Konoha Eleven had reached at least chunnin rank. Sakura had heard whispers that they were considering promoting Lee to special jounin and Shino would without a doubt be promoted to full jounin in the next selection. She wasn't certain whether to be happy or sad for Lee. Special jounin would give him the clearance to take missions, but he wouldn't ever be able to advance beyond it. For purely practical reasons, full jounin needed to be capable of a balance of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu that Lee couldn't achieve.

"Are you ready to return to Konoha now?" Neji asked and she transferred her attention back to him. As he'd waited patiently for her the last hour, Sakura smiled. He was so very different from her other teammates.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Let's go home, Neji."

-X-X-X-

Naruto felt that if there was a jutsu that would allow him to walk on air, he'd pull in off in a heartbeat. Heck, he might not even need the jutsu.

There was a lot to be said for the outside world. An endless stream of festivals full of pretty women just as puberty was kicking into high gear was nothing to scoff at, no matter how outraged Sakura-chan might be if she ever found out. That wasn't all they'd done, of course, and he had his share of miserable days camped in the rain and brutal training behind him, but what Naruto had enjoyed during his time away from the village was the anonymity.

Jiraiya was pretty memorable, but the yellow-haired brat with him? People didn't know him and so treated him exactly as they might treat any stranger, though sometimes he inspired respect for his association with a Sannin. Or, y'know, red-faced rage when Jiraiya was recognized for or caught in the act of his special brand of _research_.

But Konohagakure, no matter how it had treated him in the past, it was his _home_. The people he loved were here, so he'd always return.

Speaking of people he loved, he caught sight of a familiar green hoari. "Tsunade-baa-chan!" he bellowed in greeting as he leaped from his perch on an electrical pole, a grin spreading across his face as he anticipated her reaction.

And she didn't disappoint. Spinning on her heel, hands coming down on her hips, pigtails flying, she faced him with an impressive look of mock anger. "You little brat! Come over here and try saying that!" Then her face softened and she cocked a hip, a hand falling more naturally to her side. "Welcome back, kiddo."

Naruto ran his hand through his hair, smiling so widely his face muscles protested.

"It's good to be back," Jaraiya commented as he drew alongside his pupil.

"Hey, Tsunade-baa-chan, do you know where Sakura is?" Naruto inquired

"She's the Hokage, not psychic," Jiraiya murmured, rolling his eyes.

But Tsunade smiled and jabbed a thumb behind her in the direction of the tower. "She's due in any time now. You can wait in my office."

"She's been out on a mission?" Naruto asked curiously. It was just, well, strange, to think of her on a mission without him.

Tsunade snorted. "She certainly hasn't been out picking daisies. I swear the girl's determined to beat Kakashi's record when it comes to making it into ANBU."

When both he and Jiraiya stopped dead, Tsunade looked over her shoulder at them in irritation. Naruto had to pick his jaw off the ground before he could speak. "ANBU?" he asked weakly.

"Yes, ANBU," Tsunade snapped. "Did Jiraiya damage your hearing while he was out corrupting you?"

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune held her hands up appealingly. "You shouldn't take it out on others just because today you're scheduled to do a full jounin progress review with the elders." Tsunade's hazel eyes narrowed at her apprentice and the woman snatched her hands back like she was afraid they'd be bitten off.

"Don't remind me," the Sannin growled. "Haruno and the Hyuuga better have some good news for me."

Shizune muttered something under her breath. "What was that?" Tsunade demanded.

The slighter girl held up her hands again. "Nothing, nothing, Tsunade-sama!" she protested, but wilted under the force of Tsunade's stare. "I just don't think you should be using a mission in Lightning as an excuse to make two of Konoha's jounin go on a liquor run for you."

Tsunade sniffed haughtily. "I'll have you know Lightning produces the best shochu of any of the shinobi nations."

Shizune looked like she might cry, but Jiraiya brightened. "I always knew you were a woman with good taste," he complimented her.

"Only the best for the Hokage," a voice from above agreed. It was so familiar that Naruto almost wrenched his neck as he turned to see the girl who he shared the promise of a lifetime with. As he met familiar jade eyes, the words flashed through his mind. _We'll bring him back together, and then we'll spend of the rest of his life showing him just how _stupid_ he was to look anywhere but into the Fire for power. _

The words had startled him then, even when he'd kind of settled into Sakura surprising him at every turn for those last few months, but know he could see that they belonged to the young woman sitting on a nearby utility pole. He was surprised to see another familiar face balancing on the plastic coated wires just behind her, but Tsunade had mentioned Neji had been with her.

But he dismissed him as easily as a kinda interesting accessory, because the one he really wanted to see was Sakura. She was grinning down at him and a tension he'd never even known was there disappeared from his shoulders. She'd been so serious and melancholy before he left, he'd thought she might never recover that teasing, radiant smile.

Though it was pulled up in the back, if her bangs were anything to go by she'd let her hair grow out again. Confined by jade beads about halfway down their length, they framed a face that had slimmed out and become less childish. Her black silk kimono top was belted at her waist instead of below her breasts with thin red cord, narrow hakama style pants tucked into knee-high open-toed boots concealing her legs. Over it all she wore a flashy red hoari with the Haruno clan crest hemming the wide sleeves in a pattern of circles.

"Sakura!" he finally managed to say at last. "I'm back."

"Welcome home," she told him and that was when he really knew he'd returned to Konoha at last.

"You picked it up?" the Hokage demanded as Sakura leaped to the ground, Neji following like her silent shadow.

"Hai, shishou," Sakura replied cheerfully, tossing a scroll to the Hokage, who sighed.

"I really wish you hadn't used a sealing scroll. It does something to the taste."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, we believed it dangerously inconvenient to transport an entire crate of shochu around the land of Lighting."

Tsunade grumbled but made no further comment on the matter. "Well, how'd the real mission go? Any hang-ups I should know about, or should I wait with bated breath for your report."

Sakura exchanged a knowing glance with Shizune while Neji answered the question. "Everything went smoothly, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Not that I expected anything less from the two of you. Haruno Sakura."

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yeah, baa-chan?"

"Prepare yourselves. Because now that this baka's back, Team Seven will be reinstated." While Naruto couldn't contain his triumphant cry, Sakura was more reserved, but he could tell she was still happy.

"What about a fourth member, Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked after a moment. "With Naruto being technically a gennin, we're not eligible for full deployment without four members."

Tsunade frowned. "Don't worry too much about the details. That's being taken care of. Now, all you have to do is find Kakashi."

-X-X-X-

Neji activated his Byakugan for a better view of the reunion between the remnants of the former Team Seven. Long practice made lip reading almost as natural as actually hearing people speak. At his side, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, and Shizune-san were also crouched in the trees, watching.

Jiraiya-sama chuckled as Naruto jumped at the challenge before Kakashi had even said 'Go!' "If that boy could just learn a little more patience, he'd be a real force to be reckoned with."

Tsunade-sama snorted. "Good luck with that. Minato may have given his looks, but he's got a lot of Kushina in him too." Neji listened curiously to their conversation. The name Minato rang a bell, but he couldn't place it before he was distracted by Kakashi.

He could almost hear Jiraiya-sama smiling as the two younger shinobi took cover in the woods. "So, the pink-haired one is your student? Should I expect some minor earthquakes?"

Tsunade-sama chuckled. "Think what you want Jiraiya, but Sakura isn't just some Sannin copy. I've taught her a lot, but Sakura is Sakura, not a younger version of me. Her jutsu is unique to her. And, at any rate, she knows that Kakashi knows she's been training with me. He might be expecting something like that. So, I'll bet she uses something a little different…" Tsunade paused and then they all felt as Sakura's presence disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. "And there she goes."

Jiraiya-sama definitely looked startled. "She cloaked her presence and her chakra. I can't sense her at all."

Neji felt pleasure at the praise his friend was receiving, even as he silently tracked Sakura's progress with his Byakugan. Being that it required only the barest of chakra to appear in his sight, such as the case of rocks or metals, Sakura still couldn't hide from his eyes, though she was extremely difficult to locate. Her concealment jutsu was Kage-level and was part of her distinctive fighting style. He had a good idea of which technique she'd try first.

Though she'd continued her progress on that five-style taijutsu path Gai-sensei had started her on, Sakura tended not to confront higher-ranked, single enemies so openly as to need that skill. Her distinctive style, the one that never made it into the Bingo books, was what Neji had taken to calling her Raipo, or lightning step. Much like Kakashi's Raikiri, it was an assassination technique, but it wasn't nearly as loud as the lightning based jutsu. Instead, Sakura used her chunnin tanto to strike a fatal point on the opponent's body, killing them on the first blow.

And if that failed, because of some extraordinary skill of the enemy, the tanto was always poisoned with some of the most complex compounds that Tsunade's tutelage could provide. They weren't tortuous, slow-acting poisons, but rather more like liquid death that only needed to infiltrate a vital organ to shut down a person's entire system in moments.

Of course, this was a technique best suited to one-on-one combat, just as she was experiencing now. He watched, tamping down his own rising adrenaline levels, as her hand ghosted underneath her hoari to touch the hilt of the tanto, then settled on an unarmed charge. There!

He heard both Jiraiya-sama and Shizune-san gasp as Sakura appeared directly behind Kakashi, her hand already outstretched, an eerie green flicker surrounding her outstretched fingers. Neji knew from experience that Sakura was a real menace with the medical jutsu she'd managed to learn. She had the strangest block, stranger even than the Godaime's fear of blood, that wouldn't allow her to use medical jutsu to heal, though her control was more than perfect. But she could use it to deal extremely controlled damage, whereas if by some miracle some of her other attacks connected, it could spell the end for Hatake Kakashi.

Neji watched anxiously as the more experienced jounin pulled the fastest substitution he had ever seen. He was so used to being her backup that he could already see the exact point he needed to interpose himself in order to flank Kakashi. Neji had no doubt that they'd be able to subdue even the copy-nin, so he cringed when Naruto awkwardly joined the battle. It wasn't that his techniques were bad—in fact they showed amazing improvement-but two skilled musicians playing different tunes guaranteed only dissonance, not harmony.

He could see it immediately, even without the benefit of his kekkei genkai. It had been too long, their styles had changed too much, and they were just painfully awkward with each other. Kakashi took immediate advantage of that. The battle was almost painful to watch, because Neji knew Sakura could hold her own against her sensei, had trained ferociously with him. But that also meant Kakashi knew her well, knew just how to use Naruto's seemingly endless army of clones to his advantage. Sakura might be skilled at taijutsu, but Kakashi's "rival" was a taijutsu master likely far beyond what Sakura would ever accomplish. It was almost painful to watch his long-time partner, more used to giving commands these days than following, try to sync her attacks with Naruto's erratic movements.

He had firsthand experience that told him how dangerous the unpredictability of his attacks was to an opponent, but it made it difficult to work _with_ him. Sakura was a planner, Naruto operated by instinct. And without a long history of working side by side to bind them, they couldn't function well as a team.

"Kakashi's got them on the run," Jiraiya-sama noted.

"Sakura will turn it around," Tsunade-sama said staunchly.

"Want to put money on that?" Jiraiya-sama challenged. "It'll be Naruto does something crazy and gets the bells for both of them.

"Tch. What do you think, Hyuuga?" Tsunade-sama demanded.

"Hey, it's unfair to ask a lady's lover to take sides," Jiraiya-sama protested.

It certainly wasn't the first time Neji'd been called that. The Konoha gossip mill was always running and any two shinobi of the opposite sex who spent time together on missions were liable to have laughable rumors circulate, especially when those two shinobi were jounin. Then the rumors became really ridiculous, sounding more like the romantic subplot of an action film than anything that could really happen. He'd posed as her lover, husband, and even once a bodyguard in the course of their missions, but when the ero-Sennin Jiraiya-sama said it, it made the back of his neck warm.

He coughed to clear his throat and cover his embarrassment. "Kakashi-sempai is a bad opponent for Sakura, but I don't think she'll lose," he said.

Jiraiya-sama looked at him pointedly. "See?" he said to Tsunade-sama.

It was, as it turned out, a collaborative effort. Naruto distracted Kakashi by threatening to reveal the plot of the newly released _Icha Icha_ and Sakura had used that brief moment to disable their foe and retrieve the bells.

And, in the wave of nostalgia that left Neji feeling strangely abandoned, it seemed Team Seven would have time and leisure to begin to know one another again, this time not just as teacher and students, but as equals. Then the news came from Suna. The Akatsuki had begun to move. The Kazekage had been abducted and his brother lay dying. Team Seven was dispatched first and Neji would leave with his own team to provide support. After two and a half years of peace, Neji could feel changes begin again.

A/N: Shochu is an alcoholic beverage made from rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, and/or sugar cane. It has a 20 to 40 percent alcohol content. (And if you're still confused as to why Shizune is horrified, sake, Tsunade's usual beverage of choice, only has an alcohol content of 10 to 20 percent. Though shochu is usually served diluted, so maybe it would even out.)

Also, bad author that I am, I'd like to hear opinions about another story I'm considering doing. You'll notice in a lot of my stories, Sakura as a medic is underplayed, because I personally haven't been convinced that it isn't simply a convenient plot device to keep Sakura on the sidelines and off the battlefield (You may feel free to disagree, this is only my personal opinion, especially after the last few chapters). The premise of this story would be that Tsunade would see Sasuke as a flight risk and begin to secretly train Sakura earlier, in order to give her skills as bargaining tools when and if Sasuke defects to Orochimaru. He, of course, does so, but this time he takes Sakura with him. When the retrieval squad interferes, she is left to make her way to Orochimaru separately. She runs upon the dying Kimimaro in the aftermath of his fight with Gaara and Lee and stabilizes his condition enough to return him to Orochimaru. Orochimaru is not grateful, as she expected, but he is amused, so he tells her as he has no more use for Kimimaro, he is hers to do with as she wills, whether that is to live or die. Story would then proceed from there. So, what do you think?

And, yes, I'm trying to get another chapter of Fallen Night together, but strangely humor is harder to write than straight out drama, at least for me. Thanks for your patience and your reviews!


	17. Scorpion

Disclaimer: If, after a major revision and over forty combined chapters between the two of them, you still haven't realized that I have no rights to anything in the Naruto-verse, well, that presents quite a quandary.

A/N: Two words. Uphill Climb. Enjoy and review, if you please.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Seventeen-

Scorpion

Orders had been sent ahead, tied to the talons of Konoha's fastest messenger hawk. _Have your three most talented medic-nin standing by. My apprentice will take charge once she arrives. Let them know that they are to follow Haruno Sakura's orders without question if you want to save the brother of your Kazekage._

Sakura barely glanced at the faces of the three medics who were waiting for her at the door of the hospital. She had a difficult jutsu to teach and very little time to do it in, which was why she also ignored the crazy old granny who attacked Kakashi. Every moment that poison was in his veins, there was the possibility of permanent and irreversible damage to his organs. She had not a moment's doubt about her ability to create an antidote, but what she needed was time—time that Kankuro didn't have.

_An entire village full of poison users, yet they haven't developed their own extraction techniques? _Sakura thought abrasively as she watched the medic-nin's abortive first attempts. _Don't tell me no one was ever injured training with their puppets. And I know for a fact it's a matter of pride among puppet users to develop unique poisons. _

_ Perhaps, _Orochimaru hissed, _it's also a matter of pride, that those who live are those who are intelligent enough to have antidotes to their own poison on hand, or an immunity to it._

Sakura scoffed mentally. While she would never trade the freedom she had as a field ninja for a position at the hospital, she had the utmost respect for medic-nins, Tsunade-sama in particular. And because she had entrusted her with this task, despite knowing that her kind-of apprentice couldn't heal. At all. Complete and total mental block.

_Thank you, Amanozako_, she thought snidely deep down into her psyche."Not like that," she snapped as she saw that one of the medics was channeling too much chakra. "You're going to be reaching into internal organs. That much chakra and you'll burn the cells."

The green light surrounding his hands wavered and Sakura scowled. "Do that while you're extracting and all you'll do is spread the poison. Calm down, take a deep breath, and keep your chakra steady. Same as any other medic technique. Don't think too hard," she advised. "Pretend you've got all the time in the world, but don't take that long."

After twenty minutes of intense practice, when she was at least satisfied there was no danger of them doing further damage to Kankura, she left them to it. Taking with her the meager sample they'd already extracted, she asked to be directed to the greenhouses. She had higher hopes for them than for the hapless medic-nin, because many of the plants used for antidotes could also be utilized in poisons.

The old woman who'd escorted her looked on with knowledgeable eyes as she culled ingredients and experimented with the ratios. "You have a very impressive collection here," Sakura murmured without turning to her. "I didn't expect to find so many medical herbs in the desert."

_Lie_, Orochimaru snickered. _What are you digging for?_

"We do what we can with what we have," the old woman answered.

"So," Sakura asked evenly, "why didn't you cure Kankuro?"

"What are you talking about, girlie?" she demanded in a voice that despite having grown thin and raspy from old age was strong and clear.

"You know at least as much about these plants as I do. Maybe more," Sakura said. "Isn't that right, Chiyo-sama?"

The old woman cackled. "How'd you know?"

"When Tsunade-shishou was briefing me, she mentioned that there was a legendary poison queen that had lived in Suna during the wars. She thought you might be dead, but if you weren't, she thought you might be a good source if I couldn't identify the poison."

"And you, girlie?"

"I know legends don't die that easy."

Chiyo-sama cackled again. "Insight and knowledge. The Slug Princess must be proud of you. But _I'm _curious as well. You obviously knew the poison extraction jutsu. Why didn't you perform it yourself?" Her dark eyes were piercing.

Sakura frowned. "I can't," she admitted.

"Control not good enough?" Chiyo challenged.

"Something like that. But, my question still stands. For all your knowledge, why couldn't you identify the poison? With the ingredients here, you might be able to treat any poison in the world." Sakura waved a hand across the table, where the remnants of plants, chakra diagrams, and a mortar and pestle were laying. "So why couldn't you? Or why _wouldn't_ you? Is that the better question?"

The old woman frowned, the creases in her face growing deeper. "You found that antidote yet, girlie, or you gonna talk Kankuro to death?"

Sakura's jade eyes narrowed. _She knows something_, she commented to Orochimaru. _I wonder what it is. From Tsunade-shishou's description, she's the kind of woman that would do anything for the safety and prosperity of her village._

_Never underestimate the secrets of the old, Sakura-chan,_ Orochimaru said. _When a ninja lives as long as she has, there's a lifetime of things that could be the answer. _

Sakura ceded the point, refocusing her attention on finding the antidote. But never did that nagging feeling leave her mind, that something wasn't quite right.

-X-X-X-

They managed to save Kankuro. By an almost unacceptable margin, but there it was. The three medic-nins working in concert had managed to extract enough of the poison to give Sakura the needed hours and her antidote neutralized the rest. Wordlessly, Sakura pocketed three hypodermic versions, following up on her clamor of her honed instincts.

"It's Sasori of the Red Sands," Kakashi announced. "As we thought, he and his partner took Gaara." Though she wanted to look at Naruto, to see how he received the news, Sakura glanced sharply over at Chiyo. There was something, some report she'd read about Sasori, that she felt she should remember, but the connection wouldn't come, nor did the placid look on the elder's face give anything away.

_What is it Orochimaru? What am I missing?_ Her constant, internal voice was silent, which only confirmed that whatever she'd forgotten was important.

"I'll be going with you."

Sakura frowned almost imperceptibly. But this wasn't her mission and the decision rested with Kakashi.

"But… Granny Chiyo, you can't…" Temari's protest fell on deaf ears.

With a dark look on her face, the elder murmured, "It's been a while since…I've taken care of my adorable grandchild." And like someone had shoved a red-hot iron into her brain, Sakura remembered the connection she'd forgotten.

-X-X-X-

Kakashi was admittedly curious as to why Chiyo had decided to pitch in on the mission, when, according to Temari, she and her brother had almost totally withdrawn from village politics. But the real worry was Naruto.

Only a sharp word had kept him from outstripping the rest of them and drawing ahead on the strange trail left by the Akatsuki member. Kakashi glanced over at his other student, but she'd already locked her reactions down tight. It was with mingled pride and regret that he looked at Sakura. Pride for how far she'd come, regret that she would be leaving the remnants of Team Seven as she chased her own dreams. Dreams that he wasn't certain he, Naruto, or Sasuke played a part in.

Despite having been the only member of Team Seven left in Konohagakure and spending more time in one-on-one training with her than he ever had before, the distance between them had never been closed. He was always finding things out after the fact, like her promotion to jounin. It was partly his fault, because he'd gone back into ANBU, but there was also a reticence in Sakura that was new. Like sunshine and springtime, Naruto and Sakura had both lived open lives. What they hated they hated ferociously, what they liked, they liked beyond reason or logic.

Naruto was still like that. Though his dream was to be Hokage, his desire to save his friend came first, before everything else. He hadn't taken his training trip with Jiraiya to give him legitimacy in the eyes of the council, to improve his knowledge of the villages in foreign countries, or to come in contact with Jiraiya's extensive spy network. He'd done it so he would have the power to bring Sasuke back. A seemingly simple wish that Kakashi, but the complications that lurked beneath the surface were astounding.

Naruto had more reason than even Sasuke to hate the entire village, but Naruto had _chosen_ to love the village despite itself. And it in turn, he'd gained friends and allies. But not Sasuke. Sasuke had chosen his path, and it lay far outside the village. He wondered if Naruto had paused even for a moment to consider what Sasuke might have done in Orochimaru service for power. How that might have changed him. He knew Naruto had come close to bringing him back at the Valley of the End, but while Naruto was still Naruto, Sasuke might have changed beyond anything his former teammates might recognize.

He was brought back to the present by the subtly probing questions being exchanged by Sakura and Chiyo on the subject of jinchuriki. Underneath his mask, a wry grin bloomed. Sakura didn't trust the old lady, that was for certain. And, if he wasn't mistaken, the favor was returned by Chiyo. Up ahead, Naruto rushed on, oblivious to all but his goal.

-X-X-X-

_He is only a distraction, Sakura-chan,_ Orochimaru informed her calmly.

Sure, maybe it was easy to regulate him to 'distraction' when safely ensconced in her head, but on the outside, every muscle vibrated with tension as she came face to face with a familiar figure. The one who was responsible for her fractured personalities, Uchiha Itachi. Sakura took a deep breath through her nose, forcefully relaxing her body.

"Long time no see, Kakashi, Naruto," the deep, placid voice she'd heard only once before said. He glanced over her and Chiyo, but acknowledged neither of them.

Rage reared its head from deep inside. _Rip out his eyes before he can see into us, _Amanozako seemed to demand_. _It was not a rage born from fear, because Sakura knew, knew that Uchiha Itachi would never take that moment to gaze that deeply into her.

Sakura had been afraid of Itachi once, but after that battle, she'd known. With his dimming red eyes, Itachi couldn't even see her. Haruno Sakura wasn't a threat or a mission, nor had she meant enough to his little brother to antagonize like he baited Naruto, who was already snarling with bestial rage.

Sasuke hadn't seen her. Naruto saw only the Sakura he wanted to see.

She'd known, when she'd gone to Danzo, her most dangerous missions would be so deeply buried not even the Hokage would know of them. For Tsunade-shishou, her most secretive missions were never recorded nor spoken of, for fear a Root operative might lay hands on them. That was what it truly meant to be a ninja. So she put her head down and labored for the good of her village, willing to cede recognition in favor of advancement, which had led to more missions. Ugly, dirty, soul-staining missions.

But necessary, most of them. Danzo was a madman, but the remnants of an iron-barbed intelligence were still coiled around the core of his organization. So that the Hokage could speak of peace and hope for a better tomorrow, he kept the village safe in any way necessary. His ambitions simply went too far. The kind of cruel practicality that he practiced could not rule a village. It was better left in the dark.

And, she had been satisfied with that. Sakura was finally useful to someone, to the village she loved best. Danzo and Tsunade-shishou gave her purpose. But it was a numbingly, damningly lonely experience as she served as Tsunade-shishou's spy, feeding her what information she managed to stumble upon in Danzo's service, walking a tightrope of the fear of discovery every time she reported to the bandaged man. So, just for a moment, even in an enemy's eyes, she wanted someone to see her as she was, all the way to her shattered core.

_What can those red eyes see? _she challenged silently, before she snuffed the dangerous dream before it bloomed. If this was what she was like before even three years had passed, how much more pathetic would she be by the time ten years had passed? Would she even be alive if she dreamed like that?

So she stood by and watched, action in inaction.

_That isn't Itachi Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru remarked with some surprise.

Sakura blinked and looked again at the figure who was handily defeating both Kakashi and Naruto without much effort. _I really hope it is, _she said dryly, _because if Akatsuki has more than one of them, we're screwed, _

_It's not Itachi, _Orochimaru insisted. _Fascinating. It's his chakra, but that can't be his body. _

_What makes you so certain? _

_When you broke his genjutsu all those years ago, you shoved a splinter of your own chakra into his brain. Harmless, but lingering all the same, just as the remnants of _his _chakra continue to prey on his victims during the regular course of Tsukiyomi. _

Sakura assimilated the information quickly. _Kuso, _her first thought as the urgency of her mission sunk in once again. She'd allowed herself to be distracted for a moment by Itachi's appearance. _Of course_, she realized, _they send out the one Akatsuki a group of Konoha ninjas would be guaranteed to stop and fight. Just long enough for them to complete their own jutsu. _

She cursed aloud, which drew Chiyo's attention to her. Fingers moving without the need to look down, Sakura shed her weights and then, before the woman could protest, gathered her stout body in her arms.

"Hold on," she told her roughly, leaping forward in a move that surprised enemies and allies alike. As her feet touched the ground, the earth shook, great rifts forming as she shot spikes of chakra down through her feet. Trees began to tilt and groan, crashing down behind her in a fearsome tangle. As she leaped a downed branch that had come close to clipping off her arm, she slapped an explosive tag down, knowing that it would delay any potential pursuers only moments, if that. 

But she couldn't afford the chakra for any truly flashy ninjutsu and going at Uchiha Itachi, even if it was only a copy, with her Raipo sounded like suicide. Sharingan eyes weren't confused by speed and she'd seen his reflexes. Distance was her best chance. Maybe her only chance.

Just as she thought that, a stream of fire roared over her head as she ducked. She resisted the urge to turn and look. _Kakashi and Naruto can take care of it_, she decided as she increased her speed, ignoring Chiyo's gasp.

Sakura spoke to her in a low voice. "Reach into my pouch," she commanded, "I have a couple flash-bangs. When I say go, drop them."

"What are you going to do?" the elder whispered back, even as she did as Sakura had asked.

"How well can you hide your chakra?" Sakura asked.

Chiyo smiled. "It's a fundamental element of being a puppetmaster."

"Good," Sakura replied, "because we're going to disappear. Now…go!"

As the flash-bang lit the forest around them, Sakura simultaneously hid her presence and her chakra. It would be easier if she was stationary, as she could also suppress physical signs like her heartbeat and her breathing, but her Total Dark technique was Kage-level. Chiyo turned surprised eyes to her, but Sakura ignored her, focusing on following the trail without losing her situational awareness.

Eventually she burst from the forest, coming to a sliding stop in front of an enormous boulder, a great seal affixed about halfway up. She was barely aware of Chiyo regaining her feet, cursing all the while.

"Chiyo-sama, what do you know about sealing?" Sakura asked. For missions where there were complex seals expected, she'd always been sent with a more experienced ninja. She gleaned a few things, to be certain, but not enough to recognize a ward seal like this one on sight. She also knew enough not to risk just peeling it off.

The old lady stared fixedly up at the piece of paper, but no light of recognition brightened her eyes. "Got any ideas, girlie?" she asked.

"Not yet," Sakura said.

"Think you could break down the cave?"

"Not without risking crushing everyone inside, I can't."

Chiyo glanced back at the forest. "Think that Uchiha will catch up to us?"

"No," Sakura answered shortly.

"Why not?"

"If he knew this was here, he'll stay with Kakashi and Naruto. They're the ones he was focusing on from the beginning. Sealing isn't exactly a popular field of study in Konoha," Sakura growled, thumping the rockface with her fist in frustration. "There wasn't much danger we were going to break in. Damn it!"

Dropping ungracefully to the ground, Sakura folded herself into the lotus position, then spread her awareness. The chakra in the seal was dormant and offered no clues as to how it might be removed. She was about to seek out Kakashi's chakra, but then a virtual typhoon of chakra distracted her.

"Who in the world?" she muttered. Was there another bijuu here?

Opening her eyes, retracting her awareness, she glanced in the direction the chakra disturbance had come from. The chances of three bijuu being within a mile of each other were astronomical. And, if any of the information she'd learned about the sealing of bijuu was correct, it took time to seal each one. The longer unsealed bijuu were held, the greater the chance they would escape or wreak havoc. It was part of the reason Naruto wasn't daily dogged by the Akatsuki. Which meant it was unlikely that they would gather three at once. That ungodly chakra had to belong to someone else then.

But she could feel the faintest echoes of bloodlust even from here. It seemed a sure guess that it belonged to the enemy. _Where in the world did Akutsuki find these people?_

_ From all over the world, they culled the best and the brightest,_ Orochimaru said.

_But why? If ninja that powerful are working together, there's some sort of common goal. _

"What the heck, Sakura-chan," a familiar voice declared.

Sakura's head jerked upward, where she briefly acknowledged Naruto, then turned to Kakashi. "It's sealed, sensei," she reported, old habit kicking in.

"I see that," he said lackadaisically. "Five-prong seal," he pronounced after only a moment. "We'll need to locate the others seals and take them off simultaneously."

The press of time made her heart beat more quickly inside its cage.

"Turned out Itachi was really a Suna ninja," Kakashi remarked. "Any thoughts, Chiyo?"

The old woman smiled grimly at him. "Some, son of the White Fang. But we're running out of time."

And that was when Gai and his team showed up to save the day.

-X-X-X-

Amanozako howled and thrashed in her chains as Sakura stared at Gaara's still body. They'd come too late. But if her monster was locked down tight, somewhere in the darkness, Naruto drew his out and roared.

His demonic chakra, roaring like an infernal bonfire so close by, made her uncomfortable. Something so raw and primal, matched only by the force of his anger and grief, seemed something unsightly to watch.

So, in a way, she was glad when the blonde haired nin took Gaara's body away, stringing along behind him both Naruto and Kakashi. Left alone with Chiyo and the ugly puppet, she felt like she could breathe again.

A tense, anticipatory smile spread across her face. As if he were as solid to her as Chiyo, she could feel the solid weight of a serpent as it coiled tighter around her neck, as eager as a robin for the return of spring.

_Inside the puppet, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru whispered. _Crush its carapace like it was only an ugly little cockroach. _

Sakura, for a moment, was glad for all those missions she'd rued only a minute, a lifetime ago. What would she have done if she'd been the Sakura that Sasuke had left behind? Frozen in fear? Gathered her determination and faced a foe of far greater skill?

It didn't matter. She wasn't _that_ Sakura. Perhaps she was still a paper-ninja, but a sea of blood, ankle-deep, filled the courtyard in the Forest of Bones. A trail of bodies that spanned countries, left there by her hand, stood between them. Not to Sasori's level. She wasn't that arrogant. With him being almost twice her age, it was understood he would be the one experience favored. But she wasn't without her own resources. And with Kakashi and Naruto gone, she had only one comrade left to protect. There were fewer distractions now.

Sakura let out a long, slow breathe, relaxing her body. Fighting one puppet master could be like fighting an entire army of enemy ninja, moving with one consciousness. It was the strength of the style, but also the weakness. Because no matter how many puppets they wielded, they were still only a single person, with a distinctive style, weaknesses and all.

She was mildly surprised when it was Chiyo who made the first move, reaching beneath her sleeves in a quick movement and revealing a string of kunai. For an old woman, her hand movements were surprisingly fast, but the kunai bounced off the hard shell of the puppet. But they did serve to expose that the shell of the puppet was even uglier than she'd first thought, like a grotesque face with a scorpion's stinger for a tongue.

"If you're going to play like that, I suppose you leave me no choice. So, Granny Chiyo, you want to join my collection, then? Along with the brat behind you?" He paused for a moment, as if to allow them to revel in the awful mishmash of his puppet, then he continued, "First I pull out the entrails. Then I skin the body clean, then I drain the blood, down to the last drop…"

Sakura felt a strong surge of disappointment from Orochimaru, _How tedious, isn't it, Sakura-chan? _

Despite herself, Sakura had to actively resist rolling her eyes. Only Orochimaru would find a description of something as horrific as transforming living humans into puppets tedious. But with his comment, the tension was broken. It became a ridiculous pantomime to her.

So she didn't react as Chiyo confided, "That's not Sasori's body. That's just a puppet."

"Add in a few preservatives, then string up what's left, and we have a brand new marionette. The hag is right. This form you see is just one piece from my collection. The two of you should bump up my oeuvre to three hundred exactly…that's _my _art!"

_Please, kill him now, _Orochimaru grumbled.

Sakura snorted, which drew both Sasori and Chiyo's attention. "Sorry, sorry," she apologized, holding up her hands. "Don't let me interrupt your lecture. But you know," and she sent him her mildest smile, "I would like to see some bloodshed sometime today, neh?"

"Sakura," Chiyo had a horrified look on her face.

If experience favored Sasori, she had to create conditions in which he couldn't use that experience. Surprise, which she favored, wouldn't work well in this open, enclosed cave. Sasori was too skilled to risk playing the inexperienced, pink-haired little kunoichi card. One scratch would be all it took to end the charade, because she'd be forced to use the antidote. Anger was the best way to end this battle quickly. Pray to the kami he was undisciplined enough to fall for it, have a plan in case he didn't. 

"If any blood will be shed today, it will be yours, brat," the puppet snarled.

"Oh?" Her smile was a baring of teeth. Hand ghosting over her pouch, she was glad Chiyo had left her one more flash-bang. She couldn't risk allowing him to stay in the puppet, but this would reveal her speed. Sakura quickly weighed the consequences, but even her thoughts weren't fast enough for Sasori, who ripped away the cloth concealing his face and spat poison soaked needles at them, following the move almost immediately with another needle-loaded shell shot from the puppet's left arm.

Before he could progress beyond his astonishment at their unharmed state, Sakura leaped onto the scorpion's tail that he'd intended to impale her with, held still by an unexpected chakra thread that she hadn't noticed Chiyo plant. Never one to waste an opportunity, she sprinted the length, bringing her fist down with a resounding _crack._

Rather than retreat, she followed the shrouded figure that emerged from the ruined puppet. Distance favored the puppeteer, so even before he could dramatically divest himself of his shroud, Sakura dashed forward, kunai in one hand, explosive tag hidden in the palm of the other.

As she expected, he dodged her forward strike, but as she vaulted over him, light as a brush of wind, she affixed the tag to the distinctive Akatsuki cloak.

She didn't understand Chiyo's exclamation of surprise until she turned to face her enemy again. Then even she was taken aback. Sasori of the Red Sands, who had been a missing-nin longer than she'd been alive, looked like he couldn't be older than sixteen. _What's going on? _Then a second, dumb thought she blamed squarely on encroaching puberty, _He's pretty._

_How does a puppet master secure an unaging body? _Orochimaru asked rhetorically. _Think for a moment, Sakura-chan. It's not that hard. _

_ So says you. _

Orochimaru sighed, obviously disappointed. _Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan,_ he chided, even as Sasori produced a scroll from beneath his cloak. With half her attention, she watched as he spoke to his grandmother about his favorite puppet. _Puppet masters concentrate on their puppetry almost to the exclusion of all else. It is what makes them so vulnerable to close combat. So what does a puppet master do, in order to minimize that risk?_

Sakura searched her memories for the answer. Kankuro was the only master she really knew and she couldn't really claim to know him well. But, alliance or not, she'd faced some Suna-trained puppet masters. When the answer dawned on her, it produced more horror than Sasori's corpse puppets had inspired. _Body modification. _

_ Very good, Sakura-chan, _Orochimaru congratulated her condescendingly.

Sakura swallowed as the smoke accompanying summoning began to seep from the scroll. She didn't recognize the tall, fine-featured man that appeared, but apparently Chiyo did. "The Third Kazekage…" she gasped.

"What?" Sakura questioned sharply.

"It was more than ten years ago. The Third Kazekage vanished suddenly. Sasori, so it was you!" she accused.

"Hmph," Sasori snorted, "A retired witch, one foot already in the grave, yet you still trouble yourself."

_Just how much of his body is modified? _Sakura thought. _Something human has to be left. Some sort of core. But where? If his body doesn't have circulation, poison won't help. If I don't destroy it, who knows what could happen. But I can't risk an explosion in here big enough to destroy his body, because it'll bring the ceiling down on us. _She clamped her teeth together in frustration. _Where's a Hyuuga when you need one?_

_ There might be a mark of some kind on his body, _Orochimaru remarked. _A jutsu like that likely isn't subtle. _

_ That's right, _Sakura realized. _If he's the type that wants to preserve his body as puppet, it's likely he'd want to be able to transfer bodies in case this one was damaged. So, ergo, this would be a core that could be removed easily. But how to tell, under that cloak? _

She was brought out of her thoughts by Chiyo's accusation, "Participating in the deaths of three Kazekage?"

"Three?" Sakura asked.

"It was Orochimaru who actually killed Gaara's father, the fourth Kazekage, but Sasori was complicit from the start. And now Gaara…and the Third Kazekage…"

"I wasn't involved with the Fourth," Sasori replied, "that was one of my agents. But yeah, Orochimaru and the Akatsuki go way back…We've done some work together."

Sakura let the implications of that sink in. _The best and brightest_ she could remember Orochimaru saying. And there was no doubt that the Sannin had once been a shining star of the village.

"You…worked with Orochimaru?" she asked carefully.

"Hm," he hummed smugly. "It's time to finish here."

With that he sent the Kazekage rocketing force and Sakura was forced to retreat as knives, dripping with Sasori's poison, bristled from an arm. It was a tactical retreat, but Chiyo used the tail of the broken puppet to block it, shattering the tail.

_Well, alright then, _Sakura thought, catching at the tattered collar of the puppet before Sasori could move it, channeling chakra into her forearm, wishing she hadn't abandoned her bracers. Just as the other arm began to move, she wrenched it off, discarding it even as she swept the Third Kazekage's head off his shoulders. Systematically, with her bare hands, she dismembered the puppet, countering each piece just as it began to move.

When she had finished, she glared at her opponent. "Well?" she demanded. "Was I supposed to wait and watch your puppet's pretty trick? If you really want to play, let's forget puppets or Chiyo. Face me, with just that body. It's a puppet too, isn't it?"

For the first time since the fight had been, Sasori looked discomfited.

"You hate waiting, don't you?" she challenged. "So don't drag this fight out. Every puppet you summon, I'll destroy. In the end, it's inevitable, you'll have to use that body of yours."

His eyes narrowed. "You think you're good enough to beat me, do you? Granny Chiyo has already saved you twice now."

"Then you shouldn't have any trouble taking me for your collection," Sakura remarked. "Chiyo-sama won't interfere."

"Sakura!" Chiyo protested.

Sakura eyed her askance. With the kind of unmoved stoicism she usually reserved for Danzo alone, she declared, "If she does, I'll kill her myself." _Sorry, Chiyo-sama. But I never allow an enemy to get desperate. _

Sasori's mouth quirked. Slowly, his hand rose. _Snap_ went the first clasp of his robe. Slowly, never allowing his eyes to leave hers, he disrobed. "I haven't been forced to solve a problem like this since I joined the Akatsuki. I wonder how long it's been…" he remarked.

_There_. Her eyes flicked over the only organic looking section of the whole masterpiece. A canister sized section that bulged from his chest, 'scorpion' written on it. _That's it. _He'd dropped his robe to the ground and with it the unexploded tag. _It was a good thing I didn't set it off, _she thought grimly. _It didn't have enough charge to take that thing out completely. _

"Chiyo-sama, get back," Sakura warned, hand slipping behind her back, grasping her tanto in one hand. As always when she was on a mission, her own brand of poison coated the blade. This one was a muscle relaxant, seeming harmless, until the heart relaxed enough that it no longer beat or the lungs no longer drew breath. Messier than she usually preferred, but effective. On humans. She doubted it would work on Sasori, but she didn't need it to.

Now the fight began in earnest. Sasori held his arms out, palms up as if he might ward her off, but channels built into his arms roared, spitting fire. Running forward, dodging as she made slow progress, she kept an eye on the coil that had replaced his intestine. He liked the scorpion imagery, as the first puppet had proved.

And, as she expected, when she drew close enough the knife edged appendage flew at her with blinding speed. Sidestepping, she caught it when the blade had safely passed. Grasping it firmly so Sasori couldn't retract it, she finally drew her tanto, yanking the line taught. Coming from below, she gritted her teeth and didn't stop her swing even when he turned the flames back on her, catching her right sleeve on fire.

A grim smile crossed her face as the sections parted neatly. Leaping out of the path of the flames, Sakura ripped her double-layered sleeves off before the fire could do more than scorch the skin beneath.

Whirling on him, Sakura's hands were a blur as she rushed through handsigns, cartwheeling out the way of a fresh barrage of poison needles. As her palms slapped against the rough earth, she murmured, "Doton: Heaven Quake." Her chakra lashed out, smashing the earth into uneven platforms that rose and fell, unsettling the ceiling of the cavern. Large rocks slammed into the earth, causing dust to rise. Sasori was forced to evade and Sakura hoped Chiyo-sama was doing the same behind her. Reaching into her pouch, she caught at her last flash-bang and threw it to the ground, just before she close the distance between them.

Using the Total Dark technique, combined with her Raipo speed, she appeared behind him, mindful of the winglike bladed attachments. Her left hand punched through the wood of his back and clasped something warm and writhing. She dug her fingers in so it couldn't escape, sheathing her tanto so she could catch the right wing, popping it free like a limb from some sort of doll. The action was repeated on the left side.

She would admit it was creepy when Sasori's head swiveled all the way around to face her. "Tell me," she said conversationally, as if she wasn't more than wrist deep in his chest, "who is this agent of yours?"

-X-X-X-

"Neji. _Neji_," Tenten repeated irritably.

"Yes?" he asked distractedly.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. Are we ready to return to Sakura and the others?" he questioned, eyes still trained in the direction of the Akatsuki base.

Tenten sighed internally. She couldn't decide if it was sweet or just irritating. Being raised in a traditional clan had given Neji a natural predisposition to looking out for female teammates, but if he didn't look sharp, he'd be unable to work efficiently with anyone that _wasn't _Sakura. It was why, despite their original team designations, ninja were sometimes sent out with different team members. If a ninja learned to anticipate the movements of his team members and only his team members, no matter his personal talent, it would become more difficult for him to work with strangers. A team couldn't only be the sum of its parts, it had to be more—and that was where teamwork came in.

Neji and Sakura had spent a lot of time with each other since the dissolution of Team Seven and their simultaneous rise through the ranks. She'd saved his life, which wasn't quite so spectacular as it sounded, in their line of work, but the sacrifice she'd made in choosing him over her teammate had engraved the action deeply into Neji's conscious.

Would she have made the same decision? Tenten could honestly say she didn't know, in part because it was so difficult to imagine either of her teammates defecting from Konoha. Lee was the most enthusiastic Konoha-nin she knew and Neji, well, no matter what else she thought about him, Neji was almost convinced he could rediscover every variation of the Gentle Fist form on his own, without main house help or intervention. There were entire weeks at a time when she believed him.

Both Neji and Lee were their own sources of power. What must it feel like, to lose a teammate? Especially like Sakura and Naruto had lost Sasuke. Okay, okay, she admitted to a fledgling crush on Neji, but it wouldn't be any easier to lose Lee.

As Lee and Gai rejoined them and they returned to the base, she caught sight of Sakura, supporting the Suna elder that she'd noticed with them before. She really had to give it to her, as a fellow kunoichi, for her astronomical improvement since the first time she'd seen her in combat.

She looked a little rough, but nowhere near what she expected for having faced an Akatsuki member. As they drew closer, she noticed that Sakura was apologizing profusely to the older lady. "I'm sorry Chiyo-sama, I really thought that you would dodge that."

"The ceiling? You thought I would dodge the _ceiling_?" the woman said waspishly. "Why didn't you just collapse the cavern on us both?"

Sakura winced.

"And why in the world can't you heal, if you're the Slug girl's apprentice?"

"I'm sorry, Chiyo-sama," Sakura repeated.

"What's this?" Gai-sensei asked as they finally drew even.

"When I was fighting, I…overestimated how secure this cavern's ceiling was. It collapsed on us after the battle ended," Sakura admitted.

Neji sighed.

Sakura looked over at him. "What happened? Your team didn't come back after you left to remove the talismans."

"We had to fight our doubles," Neji explained. "In order to prevent a large force from storming the base, they arranged for the four who removed the other talismans to be detained."

"Smart," Sakura commented. "Was it genjutsu or ninjutsu? It sounds fairly complex, not only the jutsu itself, but to be able to hide the fact they were trapped from the Byakugan…"

Neji nodded. "Removing the talismans triggered it, but you're right, to power a jutsu that complex, it would take a considerable amount of chakra. Even if it was passive, I should have seen it. I wonder—"

Tenten cut them off, "Um, guys, not to burst your bubble or anything, but do we have any word back from Naruto or Kakashi?"

Everyone glanced at Gai, who without Kakashi here was now in charge of the mission. Glancing around at the assembled ninja, he pumped his arm. "Aright, they're out of wireless range, but if we give it the power of youth, we can catch up in no time. Let's go!"

-X-X-X-

For a moment, she thought Orochimaru was humming as she stood over Chiyo's body. Reaching between the overlapping fabric at the front of her kimono, Sakura removed the remaining two ampoules from the batch she'd prepared when counteracting Kankuro's poisoning.

Kakashi-sensei glanced over at her. "Antidotes?"

"Evidence against immortality," Sakura murmured softly in return, even as she closed her hand over the unused doses. The magnitude of what she'd done was only now setting in. For almost two years, she'd been building a tolerance against poisons under the watchful eye of the greatest medic to ever come out of Konoha. But Tsunade-shishou's treatments hadn't prepared her for Sasori's poison. It had been unlike anything she'd ever felt. When she rammed her hand through his back, she'd sheathed her tanto for just a heartbeat so she could inject the antidote.

The poison that had soaked the intestinal coil had been seeping into the scuffs and scrapes in her skin. She'd needed the advantage, in case Sasori had some sort of fail-safe jutsu build into his puppet body. Sakura wanted the startled moment when he had to think, just for a second, about why his poison didn't affect her. She might have countered the Kazekage puppet, but even Kankuro could wield more than one puppet simultaneously. With a master like Sasori of the Red Sands pulling the strings, Sakura didn't have enough faith in her Shifting Sands imparted flexibility to trust anything to chance. For that, she'd needed to conceal her movement.

It hadn't been necessary, in the end, to fend off an army of puppets. She'd successfully analyzed her opponent and used the weaknesses of his personality and technique against him. Sakura had kept one distinct advantage over Sasori for the entire battle—never for an instant, until the very end, had Sasori really thought he would lose. Because he hadn't taken her seriously, he had lost everything. Sakura had fought with everything she had, using Orochimaru's instinct, her battle analysis, and her years of training her body to their full advantage.

_This is a lesson, _she said to herself, curling her mind tight around it, so she wouldn't think of how the battle might have gone had fate not decided to set her on her path. If she'd continued under Kakashi's tutelage with Sasuke and Naruto. If she'd never trained with Gai-sensei and his inhuman speed, which Sasori's puppets couldn't match. If she didn't have the combat experience she'd gotten under Danzo and Tsunade-shishou. Looking over at the still body of Chiyo once again, who'd survived the fight with her grandson and just as quickly sacrificed her life for the monster she'd helped created, she thought, _This is a lesson. _

And in the darkness of her mind, Orochimaru hummed an old tune, _Yūdachi no sugite…_.


	18. Painted Devils

Disclaimer: ...Really, how many times does one need to do this to firmly establish I haven't suddenly acquired rights to the Naruto franchise, nor do I make any profit from this enterprise, except for the emotional gratification of favorable reviews?

A/N: Finally, we advance beyond the scope of the original Five Kingdoms. So, for all the faithful readers who have followed me this far, I give you my most sincere thanks. As I'm sure any writer will tell you, just the thought of others reading and enjoying what you've written is an amazing feeling. After the quick pace of the last chapter, we slow for a bit as we approach the confrontation between Team Seven.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Eighteen-

Painted Devils

Sakura placed another of the black tiles on the board decisively, glancing across the narrow expanse to measure the expression of her dark-haired opponent. As usual, it offered little enough insight.

Hyuuga Hiashi played defensively, as per his usual stratagem, whether the game was go or chess. She nursed a strong suspicion that the clan head played less to win and more to see what move his opponent would make. Sakura wasn't certain if boardgames were a good measure of men's souls, but Hiashi-sama bore winning or losing with such a similar expression of _knowing_ that she half-felt she might as well have laid her life out before him.

It was a different strategy than either of her other two regular partners at this game employed. Orochimaru had begun appearing in her dreams with disturbing frequency, not always in the landscape of her mind, always with a board set before him. Mostly chess, but also shougi, go, Chinese checkers, and one very surreal episode had featured a game of Rook. When it came to the board games, Orochimaru had a very distinctive style-the game you thought he was playing and the game he was actually playing.

Her other partner was her father, the games their tenuous link in her increasingly distant relationship with her parents. Her mother was at turns exasperated and disgusted with her, but besides the occasional cornering that ended with a lecture on etiquette or the finer points of members of the Haruno clan's extended trade network, her mother didn't have much to say to her only child. Only her father seemed to remain firmly on her side, as much as his inscrutable position as family head allowed.

It was through him that she'd sent the order into Zabuza's homeland for the very special kind of blade that now rested above her chunnin tanto. Juttes were primarily a parrying weapon used to break a samurai's katana, if the sword was brittle or made of low-quality steel. Shaped a little like a leather working awl or a spike, the weapon at its broadest point was perhaps twice as wide as her thumb, tapering to a rather blunt double-bladed point, the blade itself diamond shaped for stabbing rather than cutting.

Strong dark leather had been wrapped around the hilt section over a layer of rubberized insulation. The hilt section comprised of perhaps a third of the blade's full length, and then a hooked spur jutted out, also partially wrapped. The steel was a special alloy meant to reduce the conductivity of it as a whole, but if she was truly desperate for weapons that wouldn't conduct electricity, she'd had a special set of ceramic knifes crafted at the same time. Fearsomely sharp, they only had the drawback of being more brittle, more likely to shatter, than her regular kunai.

It had been one of her secondary motivations for accepting Danzou's offer, the reports of his spies in Sound. Sakura was a thinking ninja, a paper-ninja, and she refused to go in willfully blind.

Her father had made no comment, simply observed in silence, as she'd opened the painted box and found them lying in beds of finely woven cotton. When he played the games with her, however, Haruno Toshihiko told her the stories he'd never told her as a child. Sometimes of real people, famous daimyo and their samurai in history, sometimes of myths, but he never told stories that featured ninja as the protagonist and he never repeated to her the tale of the mad prince.

She'd asked him once. "Some tales, like life, can be lived only once. To tell them more than that would take away the terror and the horror," he'd replied.

"You seem distracted," Hiashi observed.

Sakura flushed. "Sorry, Hiashi-sama."

His pearlescent eyes, more like Neji's than the soft lilac of his oldest daughter, glanced up at her. "So, your team intends to launch another retrieval effort for Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sakura bowed her head, her beaded bangs almost brushing the table. The last 'rescue' effort had been such a dismal failure. "Yes, Hiashi-sama," she said in a small voice. "But this time it will be our team only. We cannot risk anyone else for the selfishness of our teammate."

"Not even if they wished to follow you?"

Sakura didn't raise her head, instead staring steadily at the black-and-white patterns their stones had made on the board. _Neji..._

_ You cannot make use of a piece if you do not first set it on the playing board, _Orochimaru hissed. _And the Hyuuga has become such a _loyal _piece, how can you abandon him? _

_ Because he has been a loyal friend. And no friend deserves to be maneuvered like a pawn,, discarded when no longer useful or convenient. _

_ Oh, Sakura-chan_, Orochimaru chuckled, _how much you doth protest. Isn't that what you do for your missions with Danzo? Or would you tell me because those teammates have been stripped of their emotions, they don't deserve the same regard as human beings?_

Conscience pricked, Sakura didn't reply. She'd done some truly terrible things under Danzo's orders, but the benefit of having members of Root under her command was that they were more than capable of handling themselves. And, if for a moment she hesitated, showed excessive weakness, regard, or attachment, she knew that it would endanger the agents themselves as Danzo made up for lost time in her partial emotional conditioning and tested her loyalty.

Not full conditioning. Even he didn't underestimate Tsunade-shishou so badly he thought she would not notice that her apprentice had become one of his soulless thralls. It was for that same reason she didn't have the same seal on her tongue that most of Root sported.

She'd been confused when Danzo had approached her soon after she lost her team and managed to partially apprentice herself to the Hokage. Looking back, she could see how the old dog of war would see her as confused and vulnerable, a perfect target just within the Hokage's inner circle to make his offer. And if she was as desperate as Sasuke, she might have at that moment sold her soul.

But Orochimaru had saved her when she wavered. _Never give anyone your all, because then what is left for us? _he'd asked.

The selfish snake had been wrong, but he'd taught her a valuable lesson with his many-layered playing. In the end he was predictable only because his actions always served his own end. Sakura was different. She owed and served many people, her loyalties a complex web spun as strong and fragile as spider silk. But that web was woven in the great tree that was Konoha, which was her first and great loyalty.

She was not blindly, incautiously loyal to her Hokage, though she loved her as she'd never quite managed to love her mother. She despised Danzo, but they served each other's ends so well that she worked for him willingly once the moral pedestal she'd once perched on had crumbled into dust. She swept up that dust into a neat little heap and guarded it ferociously, trusting to the way that people like Naruto seemed never to falter even in the face of what seemed to be monstrous choices to her.

And then there was Hiashi-sama, who had entrusted her with the partner that had supported her in the absence of her team. But he was also the same man whom that partner had hated for most of his childhood, the one who all but branded the branch members of his own family. Not so strangely then, she often thought, _if there is one person who could understand my choices, it might be Hyuuga Hiashi. _

Before Naruto had left, she had thought that conversation in the hospital might be the last she saw of the Hyuuga patriarch. But not even a month later, after she had accompanied Team Gai on a mission, she'd received a summons to the compound. She'd sat in awkward silence across a low table as a female member of the house served them tea, wondering when Neji or Hinata might appear. Instead, Hiashi, in his steady voice, had inquired, "Do you play go?"

She'd been summoned at irregular intervals since then. It didn't take a genius of the level of Nara Shikamaru to divine Hiashi-sama's intentions. Sakura provided a somewhat subjective counterpoint to Might Gai's reports on Neji's progress. Later, she would be called upon for insight into the missions his nephew completed with her. Most things she reported dutifully. No matter what she might think of him personally, there was no doubt that Hiashi-sama would look out for his family's best interest. And if that interest coincided with her own desire to keep Hyuuga Neji alive and well, Sakura would allow herself to be used gracefully.

Even after all this time, she didn't think many members of the clan knew she met with their head. Neji had never mentioned it and neither had Hinata. That suited the new Sakura, though if no one knew that she met with him, she herself still wasn't sure what Hiashi-sama thought of her. He made Sasuke or Neji's stoicism seem about as deep and fragile as a mask made of clay.

He reminded her, at times, of her own father.

She at last answered his question. "No, Hiashi-sama. Sasuke is our responsibility."

Hiashi-sama made a thoughtful sound as he finally made his own move. "So he is an obligation, then."

Sakura hesitated. "No. Sasuke's still our teammate."

"A teammate who betrayed everything that team stood for," Hiashi observed evenly.

Sakura worried her lower lip as she considered both the board and her answer. Hiashi's fondness for traps wasn't quite the equal of her father, but she could see how his seemingly scattered pieces could coalesce into a net that would break up her conquest of the board. "He was only a scared child," she replied.

"Are you trying to make an excuse for his actions?" he pressed.

"No. That's not what I..."

"Uzumaki Naruto also lost everything dear to him in a single night. Perhaps his memories are not as strong, but he lived in a village that despised his very existence. By contrast, Uchiha Sasuke became a martyr-prince."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. "Yes, Hiashi-sama," she finally answered.

"You agree with me not because you think I am right, but because you cannot think of a reply."

Orochimaru chuckled. _For all their special doujutsu, the clans tend to be exceptionally blind._

Because the truth was, Sakura more than agreed. For all that she despised Danzou, he believed what he did was for the good of the village. Even if that was more self-delusion than not, Sasuke hadn't even had the courtesy to pretend to think beyond his own wants and needs. If it wasn't for the promise that lay between herself and Naruto...

_Would you abandon him to his own darkness? _Orichimaru asked, his weight settling in a heavy coil around her shoulders, curling tight around her neck so that she almost couldn't breathe. _Or would you delight in showing him the grave error of his ways? Slowly, ever so slowly, breaching that pale skin with those shining dark knives, tracing over his body the record of the ways he has sinned against you and your ever-so-precious village?_

She had a startlingly realistic vision of Sasuke, sprawled on his stomach before her. As she watched, his broad back suddenly was suddenly a canvas, glittering droplet of blood hanging like stars in heaven's net. Running like gravity was no matter, she watched as they slowly slid over his skin, opening shallow cuts until his back was a pattern of stylized cuts that she suddenly realized represented Amanozako and her great painful wings. And all the while, Sasuke writhed and begged, but snake curled around his wrists and ankles chained him down.

"Haruno-san, are you alright?" Hiashi-sama asked.

Smothering a startled gasp as she returned to the world where she was sitting in a study, playing go with Hyuuga Hiashi, Sakura shakily made her next move. "Yes, Hiashi-sama. I was only thinking that I actually do agree with you. No matter the wrong done to his family, I don't think it justified his betrayal."

Hyuuga eyes could look disturbingly empty, like being watched by the carved eyes of a kami. "Perhaps it was because it was his brother who killed his clan."

Sakura froze. "Itachi?"

"Yes."

_Well, that certainly explains that incredibly cryptic report in the Root archives,_ was all Sakura could think. At risk of life, limb, and sanity, she'd made periodic raids on that hive of information. It hadn't been the security-most of the scrolls were so deeply encrypted you'd need an intelligence team and a week to decode them. More than the risk of Danzo discovery her interest, there was the risk of forever scarring the ideal she'd curled the tattered fragments of her personality around, like her child-self had cuddled her stuffed panda to sleep at night until her mother had thrown it out.

Feeling her own mask descend as her features smoothed themselves into pleasant lines, she said, "Even so."

When their game had finished and she was leaving the Hyuuga compound, Sakura found herself rolling a ring idly through her fingers. Before conscious thought and the roof caving in had called her to her senses, she'd found herself palming the most unique part of Sasori's Akatsuki get-up.

In an unusually detailed report on Akatsuki, there had come the fact that each of them wore a ring with a different symbol, each on a different finger. What each of those symbols meant beyond the obvious was a mystery to Sakura, but her instinct told her the rings were somehow important. Perhaps it tied into the reason that there were always a limited number of Akatsuki.

Sasori had implied that Orochimaru had once been his partner. His new partner, Deidara, had worn a ring as well, but was it the same ring Orochimaru had worn? Sakura couldn't recall any the reports mentioning the symbol, which was a pity, but as Jiriaya-sama was in town, she might ask him and see if he knew.

Slipping the cold circle of metal back inside her pouch, Sakura strode off in search of Naruto, who had been searching for replacement teammates the last she had seen him. Sakura chuckled. _Finding a free ninja on such short notice during a good summer? Not likely. _

In a casual moment, the ring disappeared beneath her sleeves as Sakura released a barely audible sigh. "Yes?"

"Danzo-sama summons you." The figure didn't even bother emerging fully from the shadows before they disappeared. Sakura flicked tired eyes toward the empty space left behind. _If Danzo is summoning me now, he'll have orders concerning Sasuke. _

For once Orochimaru was surprisingly silent. Sakura didn't know if dissociated personality disorder could ever be considered truly "stable," but she'd begun to notice the patterns. He was more silent when she worked with people from the Rookie Nine, but emerged with a vengeance whenever she was alone or with the remnants of Team Seven. A mission like this, chasing after Sasuke, finally being able to confront him again….

Sakura presented herself moments later to Danzo, who was as usual lurking in a room without proper lighting. _This is what happens when you don't get enough sunlight, _she thought irritably as she kept her head bowed, crouching in a position that would be easy to rise from.

Her tone was a bleak and empty as Haku's desert when she spoke. "You orders, Danzo-sama?"

"Hatake Kakashi will not be accompanying you on this mission," he said without preamble. "Tsunade will likely replace him with one of her own ANBU. I've already arranged for a Root operative to take the other empty slot."

Sakura waited in silence for him to reveal his objective, keeping her muscles loose though she had a premonition of the only kind of task that would require two of his agents to complete.

"Sai has orders that he is to kill Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura didn't flinch. Her eyelids swept down once, feathery pink lashes brushing against pale cheek, but that was all the reaction she allowed herself. Real monsters, real ninja, didn't need masks to hide. Root had taught her that early and well. Fear or revulsion was met with harder tasks, more gruesome "examples." It hadn't been a mistake she'd made often.

"You are to make certain that the Uchiha's eyes are not lost in the process. You are to return them to me undamaged, is that understood?"

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

The bandaged man turned away from her, studying the calligraphy that graced the walls of the room. "If he requires support, you will provide it, but your primary role is to assure that the Sharingan is not lost."

"I will see it done, Danzo-sama." Sakura waited, to see if he would add to his orders, but when he didn't, she rose to leave.

Just as she was about to pass through the door, Danzo's voice, like a god of violence breathing inspiration into her soul, spoke. "You will not need to be circumspect. Large scale incidents happening at Orochimaru's bases can only help our position."

Sakura didn't look back at him as the words sank in. _And if I was to destroy that base and everyone in it, Orochimaru might be forced into a counter attack to prove that his position isn't weakened by the loss of the base. Or it could be a ploy for time, to drive him underground and make him reassemble his forces. It could even be a strategy to show your loyalty and commitment to this village, to prove that you're a more capable military leader than Tsunade-shishou. While that might be true, a village cannot be governed like a state at war while it's at peace. What games are you playing now, Danzo?_

Aloud, she replied, "I will make arrangements." Because, no matter what games Danzo might be playing, Sakura had never forgiven Orochimaru for what he had done, to the village and to Sasuke.

-X-X-X-

Sakura glanced between the two new strangers, one of which Naruto was glaring at with startling ferocity.

Just as Danzo had promised, there was a brown-haired ANBU that was probably around Kakashi's age and the other had just displayed the social ineptitude that was the single most defining characteristic of Root members. Sakura sighed aloud and thought she was starting to sound like an old woman. _Yep, this situation just oozes the potential for fun. One to keep an eye on Tsunade-shishou's interest, the other Danzo's, probably both with about as much personality as your average dry stick._

Orochimaru chuckled, but since he'd shown her that illusion of Sasuke, he'd radiated nothing but smug satisfaction. Sakura, for her part, tamped down that little part of her that had enjoyed it and thought Sasuke was getting what he deserved.

But a part of Sai's comment had pricked her interest. "Naruto, do you know this person?"

"Sorry about before," the new dark-haired nin said in the patently false apology she'd ever heard. "I just wanted to gauge the ability of my new team member."

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she sent the nin a sharp glance. If Danzo was using Sai for surveillance on Naruto as well as being the instrument through which he intended to kill Sasuke, there was more to this pale shinobi than met the eye.

"I just didn't know how much I'd have to look after the little prick with no balls."

Naruto looked to be about twenty seconds from throttling their new teammate, but Sakura burst into laughter. Naruto looked at her in confusion. "Sakura?"

That sent her into another wave of laughter, until she could feel moisture gathering in the corner of her eyes. After the oppressive conference with Danzo, it felt refreshing to be able to laugh so openly. "Isn't he kind of adorable?"

She could have turned to him and started speaking in tongues for all the comprehension that dawned on Naruto's face.

Sai gave a strange little chuckle of his own. "Really? I like people like you, friendly crones."

_And I like people like you Sai, who don't know enough about human nature or emotions to lie well._ Sakura smiled in a way that might not have boded well for someone who knew better. _Kami-sama did me a favor, if you're our spy. _"Sai-san, right? It'll be interesting to work with you."

The shaggy haired ANBU member half-looked like he regretted accepting his assignment already. But he took advantage of the lull in their conversation to re-establish his own authority. "Anyway, from now on the four of us are on a mission. There's no time to toss you all into a cage and get used to each other, so introduce yourselves."

Sakura marveled at what a strange group they really made if you looked in from the outside.

Blond-haired, blue-eyed Naruto, who introduced himself sullenly, wearing what was really nothing more than a black and orange tracksuit. Herself, her hair grown out again, partially pulled back, the bangs sectioned off and secured with large jade beads about two-thirds of the way down, wearing an adapted version of what might well be called samurai wear.

Sai, with his strange skin-baring outfit, though if attractive shinobi wanted to parade around wearing the male equivalent of a midriff top, Sakura supposed she could not report the fashion faux pas to Ino and just enjoy the view. It was a little unnerving, because she _knew_ that most of her attraction to him sprang from his resemblance to their former teammate, but she was a kunoichi, not dead. As long as he didn't talk, all would be well. Though the attitude was also a little reminiscent of Sasuke. In fact, she thought wryly, Sai probably meant less harm by his comments than Sasuke ever had.

Sakura half-ignored Yamato as he reiterated their objective. Though she'd learned patience at a kunai's point, now that this opportunity that both she and Naruto had waited years for had come, she couldn't decide whether she wanted to leap forward or run away, continuing to live life as she had for the past several years, without the complications that her team brought.

_No, _she thought, firming her resolution. _This team…it's still important to me. I can't just let it slip away again. This time, Sasuke, we'll bring you home._

-X-X-X-

A four-tailed fox, a snake sannin, and a teammate who she'd known from the start had orders to kill her former teammate, pretending to be little more than a half-trained medic in front of Kabuto and Orochimaru, holding herself back from interfering in the battle between a fox and a snake because while she might trust Naruto she would never trust herself to the mindless rage of the Kyuubi unleashed, running through endless corridors setting up a complex network of explosives that were still waiting to be detonated, more than two years of active combat experience on battlefields across the continent, and all it took was one glance at Uchiha Sasuke to turn her back into that little pink-haired girl trembling in the Forest of Death.

She barely saw Sasuke move, but there he was, one arm thrown across Naruto's shoulders in more physical contact than he'd willingly allowed in all their time as gennin. She couldn't even hear his words. Because she'd seen what he'd become, seen with her own eyes what no report in the world could tell her.

It wasn't rage. It wasn't sadness or frustration. It was more than all of them and she couldn't put a name to it, but she was drowning in it. Her eyes and throat burned, whether with the urge to cry or shout she couldn't discern. _What...is this feeling?_

_Disappointed ambition, _Orochimaru hissed, his voice as gleefully, casually cruel as it had been the first time she had met him. And he swallowed her down into the darkness, great white jaws encircling her even as her eyes caught too-familiar golden orbs.

Like falling asleep or dying, the descent tore away the urgency of the situation. When she landed softly on grass so lush and green she knew it had never been real, she almost couldn't remember why she would ever have to return. Jade eyes surveyed a wide and rolling plain, bursting into life with every kind of flower, wild or not, that she'd ever seen. Here were sakura trees in the full bloom of life next to Japanese maples in their reddest autumn glory. The cosmos she'd once compared Ino to were a roiling foam of a gentle pinks above the wave of green.

Something moved in her lap and she was brought back to herself. She found she was wearing, peculiarly enough, armor. Not the bulky plates of heavy cavalry, but light and flexible leather armor over linked mail. It had quite obviously been shaped and tailored for her, flowers blooming upon the dark leather. The silk kimono beneath was a flat black and the leather of her ankle-high boots matched.

A sword still in sheath lay discarded by her side, half covered by the fabric of a cape. Reaching up, she found her hair, all but the beaded bangs, fell loose down her back, her forehead protector worn properly around her head. She had a disturbing suspicion she looked like something straight out of a period movie.

The movement in her lap had been caused by a small white snake that now raised its head to look at her.

"Orochimaru?" Sakura asked hesitantly. She had never seen him appear as anything other than the giant white serpent or his human self.

The snake made a hissing sound, but didn't speak.

"What-" Sakura abruptly cut herself off as she noticed a pair of shoes had come into her sightline. Gaze slowly traveling upwards over red armor, she was struck dumb as recognition dawned.

"Uchiha Madara," the figure said, the voice every iota as dark and arrogant as she'd imagined while sitting on his statue. Like a mountain speaking, or fire itself. "I apparently have the dubious honor of representing to you thwarted ambition."

"But you're _dead_," Sakura protested. "I've never even met you."

That proud, harsh face didn't change. "Memory is not limited by the bounds of death and neither is imagination. And, without facing that most primal self that can only be exposed by something so traumatic as to almost destroy a person, so painful that you cut them open to their very soul, can you say you have met anyone?"

"What...?"

He squatted before her in a sharp motion, hands hanging casually over his kneecaps. "I am saying that it is only when you have tortured a man, brought him to the brink of sanity and death, that you can finally know his true face. Everything until that point is only illusion. It is from that desire the Sharingan was born."

Sakura leaned away from his red-eyed stare, shivering as if a cold wind had swept across the grassland.

"If a man surrenders at that point of death, he was never brave. If he disavows his lord, he was never loyal. What then, of men who break at the least sign of pain? Do they deserve to be called men?"

Tendrils of green began to creep over her clothes, vining flowers bursting into bloom as they used her body as a trellis, the purple strands of passion vine, the spring skies of morning glory, the virgin white of some sort of night blooming flower.

"What protection do the weak _deserve_?"

"It's the duty of the strong to protect the weak," Sakura said, but the words lacked conviction. "Ninja protect the village and the civilians."

"Should not man imitate nature? Nature crushes out those too weak to live."

The individual strands had looked fragile, but not they bound her so solidly them might have been flexible steel. Sakura struggled, but she couldn't rise. Tearing at the growing flowers only made them creep faster. "Orochimaru!" she called out as she watched the small snake be caught and quickly disappear beneath the bouquet that continued its insidious march.

A surprised breath escaped her as Madara took hold of her shoulders and pushed her down into the grass, hanging above her like an ominous shadow. He ignored the trailers that made their way up his arms.

Those red eyes seemed to burned through her, his spiky mane, like a great lion's, almost trailing against her chest. "Do you want to _meet _Uchiha Sasuke?" he offered, his mouth almost against hers.

And Haruno Sakura, who loved Konohagakure, was seduced by the man who had almost destroyed it.


	19. A Glorious Field of Battle

Disclaimer: Own. Nothing.

A/N: Did I feel evil ending the last chapter where I did? Yes. Was it satisfying? Yes. Yes it was.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Nineteen-

A Glorious Field of Battle

It was the difference between water and fire. Orochimaru whispering in her ears was drowning, the chill length of a body without its own heat pressed against her flesh as familiar as the feel of a kunai in her fingers. Uchiha Madara was a different beast entirely. She breathed him in and it was like magma, cooling inside her bones to leave them as hard and sharp as obsidian. Orochimaru was darkness and he was light, unforgiving and unyielding, like the scorching eye that made the desert a hell on earth.

His will was almost a living thing, down her throat and into her belly like swallowing lightning, but if it was to shatter, it would shatter brilliantly, like a diamond. Orochimaru had taught her to adapt, to never place all her faith in a single plan or a single cause, to accept defeat as a strategy, to curl away and try again if her life was endangered, because she was the most valuable piece in her own play. He was a pinpoint strike, a snake's fangs in the dark, but Madara was a crushing force, a meteor slamming into the earth.

Defeat wasn't just unacceptable, it was unimaginable. _Strength enough to not fear the light_, that was the taste of his lips on hers, a burn seared into the nerves that danced alight even as he drew back. Sakura shuddered, feeling her prior plans being stripped away, like little sapling pulled out by the roots and a full grown tree blooming in their place. _Capture him or destroy him, by any means, _that was Madara's voice, ringing through her body. Orochimaru would have told her there would be other games, other opportunities, but Madara was not playing. He was utterly serious and for a moment Sakura could see into the glory of a man who'd lived in a time of war that she couldn't even comprehend.

And, in his way, as terrible as Orochimaru, because she could already feel the harshness of his mind, the ability to sacrifice friends and comrades for the achievement of his objective.

"Naruto," Sakura gasped, _Naruto wants to save Sasuke. _

Those red, red eyes offered no quarter. The earth beneath them shook and with a sound like the world breaking, two great beasts struggled up out of their graves. One was familiar and surprising, nine dark tails whipping as the Kyuubi struggled to gain purchase, the other strange, a great she-goat with a ram's horns and a snake for a tail. Above their heads, the titans crashed, one tearing at the she-goat's flanks with teeth like swords, the other bringing that great head smashing down, down, down, the snap of breaking bones.

A very faint smile touched Madara's firm lips. "Struggle, but we will become one beast," he whispered. "One will. Your will. You have already decided."

_Don't want to kill him, _she pleaded silently, wishing for a surreal moment for Orochimaru's return. He had never tried to force her to do anything, satisfied to twist her thinking until it almost resembled his own. By force of personality alone, Madara was now trying to crush the few walls she had left.

"Oh?" Madara asked, somehow managing to imbue that single word with so much meaning that Sakura closed her eyes against it. _He is, even now, trying to kill Naruto. He _betrayed_ you. _

"I want to save him," she finally forced out, though her voice almost failed her. She could almost see her resolve tremble under the force of the assault.

"Tell me that he is worthy is saving."

"That's not something you get to decide."

For the first time, Madara laughed, the sound almost lost in the cacophony of the great beasts fighting around them. "We will meet Sasuke, and then we will see."

Something inside her gave with a feeling not unlike the pain of severing Tsukiyomi. Far too gently for comfort, Madara moved to cradle her head in his left hand, sliding his right beneath her back and then he tore her from the clinging vines that had almost managed to entomb them both.

With no Orochimaru to swallow her up, Sakura almost didn't know how to return to the world outside her mind, but Madara had no hesitation. She had never stood in the heart of a wildfire, but as the garden and the rolling plains were consumed in an instant by an inferno that stole her breath, she thought now she had ventured where nothing truly human could survive. And when she saw the grinning face of the great fox as it stalked in a wide circle around them as her consciousness faded, she _knew_, suddenly, that she could not go any deeper, because if Madara was king in this Garden of Ruin, who would be waiting in the fourth kingdom?

_How much longer can I pretend? _

The confusion of the kingdoms was wiped away by her return to the battlefield. It was like only moments had passed, Sasuke still with Naruto, but she could feel Orochimaru's absence. His weight on her shoulders, the wind that tickled her ear, it was all replaced with the feeling of a stranger inside her skin, like being ridden by a demon.

Stronger than iron, perhaps even stronger than steel, she wondered for a moment why Madara despised Sasuke so, but the answer came before she ever had to put the question into words. In his way, Madara had also treasured Konohagakure. It wasn't entirely out of personal dislike that he had rebelled against the Senju—he had thought them incapable of safeguarding the village he had invested so much of his life to create. For Madara, the world was a simpler place. The strongest should lead. Traitors should die. She'd almost forgotten how much older he was, because the Madara of her mindscape was a ninja in his prime, but the emotional discipline was that of a man who had sacrificed even those close to him in order to achieve his dream. It was a special kind of hardness and he shared it with her freely.

Sakura exhaled, releasing the smallest bit of chakra, feeling the tiny vibrations as the earth breathed back.

_There is no retreat, _Madara's voice resonated through her body. _Violence is a universal language. Speak to the Uchiha and you will begin to truly know him, if he survives. _

Inhaling, Sakura set her lips in a firm line. A strangely vulnerable feeling stole over her, like she was preparing to strip before strangers. With the exception of Neji, there was no one living who had seen her full repertoire. Her assassination-style techniques meant that most fights ended before the enemy even became aware of her presence. Her five-style taijutsu was public knowledge, but her ninjutsu and genjutsu had never been recorded in an enemy country's bingo book. Ironically enough, Suzuki-san from the scroll archives might have had the best idea of the range of techniques she'd studied, though Kakashi-sensei had generously suffered through Sharingan testing of her genjutsu.

A shiver raced through her body as she heard the rattle of steel against wood as Sasuke unsheathed his chokuto. _Would he really…?_ Her question went unanswered as Sai intercepted the strike, grabbing Sasuke's wrist and holding him in place.

"That guard…passed," Sasuke said slowly.

With a speed that would take her outside the capacity of civilian sight, Sakura appeared behind Sai, pinching the same nerves in his neck that had once left her collapsed on a bench. Sasuke's eyes widened incrementally, but even as Sai fell beneath the level of the sword, Sakura lashed out, kicking Naruto into Sasuke and sending them both flying.

Sasuke managed to extricate himself, landing some ten feet away, but Naruto didn't even catch himself properly, skidding to a rough stop. "Sakura, what…?" he asked, coughing.

"Sakura?" his voice was confused.

_ Pathetic, _Madara rumbled.

Sakura turned her gaze away from those inquiring blue eyes, watching Sasuke's dark eyes for him to telegraph his next move, but they deep and still as wells filled with pitch. _Even Itachi has more life in his eyes._

"Are you here to bring me home too, Sakura?" Sasuke mocked.

Sakura glanced down at the ninja she still held by the collar, having pulled him out of her way, as if she'd forgotten he was there. "A tool that cannot complete its task should be thrown away," she replied, carelessly tossing his body in the direction of Yamato. "You should be more careful, Naruto. A kage cannot afford to blunt his own weapons."

"Sakura, what are you saying?" Naruto demanded anxiously, rising to his feet, hand outstretched.

"I think the time for grandstanding is over, don't you think? I'm feeling a little left out, Sasuke. Aren't you going to attack me too?" She could feel that her smile was more a predator bearing its teeth than any gesture of friendship.

Sasuke snorted. "You were always weak, Sakura. Do you think you could hold out against even one of my attacks?"

For once, there was no anger, no bitterness that welled up at his reaction. Madara insulated the most vulnerable parts of herself. Sliding one hand beneath her outer jacket so that her palm rested on the jutte's hilt, Sakura turned her body slightly to present a narrower target.

Sakura knew Sasuke's own speed was meant to be faster than her eyes could track. But she'd been partners with Neji, which meant she was treated as an honorary member of Team Gai with her own team gone, because there was no fate more tragic to the green-clad workaholics than not having proper practice partners. So her eyes were trained and "if the eyes deceive" she was more than capable of tracking him using his chakra.

So, compared to receiving one of Lee's kicks, the sword stroke came almost in slow motion, as if he intentionally wanted her to see it. And perhaps it was unfair, but Sakura always fought to give herself the advantage. When she caught the chokuto's blade in the spur of the jutte, she used the distraction of her flaring red cloth of her haori to palm poisoned senbon, making certain that they didn't extend beyond the tips of her fingers.

Three fingers extended, she fainted like she was going to simply use a debilitating nerve strike. As she expected, Sasuke caught her wrist. "Hm," she hummed, flipping her hand around like a snake not held properly, pricking him with the senbon that extended like retractable fangs.

She didn't get them very deep before Sasuke disengaged, putting distance between them. Sakura watched him calmly as he glared down at his hand. Senbon were a precision weapon, so the poison she used for them was different than what she used for her tanto. It was made from a herb whose leaves, when dried and ground into a powder, produced a numbing sensation so strong it was almost impossible to use the affected area.

The affect didn't last very long, but disabling his hand hadn't been her real intention. Sasuke had always, always been easily angered in a fight. It made him clumsy and it made him careless. "Again," she demanded, waving him on like she was his sensei inviting him to spar.

The dark eyes weren't so empty now, narrowed and irritated. He dashed forward, sword in one hand and she prepared to meet him again, but she was surprised when he suddenly stopped. "Chidori Nagashi!" Lighting surged around him, snapping and crackling, striking out not only at Sakura but in a wide enough area to also catch Naruto, who had been coming to her aid.

She wanted to scream from the sensation of it, but she bit down on her lip and bore it out, Madara's presence keeping her awake and aware even while Naruto toppled. When it was over, she shuddered involuntarily, but the fierce smile never left her face even as blood trickled down her chin. "That's it," she encouraged. "Yamato-san, why don't you take the others and watch with Orochimaru?"

The ANBU looked at her like she'd gone mad. As he'd never met her in that distant past of her childhood before inner-Sakura appeared, she supposed she had, but here allies were only in the way.

"Get them out of the way, Yamato!" she barked when he didn't move. He didn't look enthusiastic, but this time he did move, reappearing some distance along the rim of the artificial cliff the earlier explosion had created.

"That was a nice development, Sasuke. Now, let's see if I can't equal it." Bringing her hand in front of her face, two fingers raised in a symbol of concentration, Sakura released a burst of concentrated chakra. The explosions began in the deepest levels of the compound, with a sound like distant drums, but as they grew nearer the surface, the ground began to shake and dust and smoke began to belch from the open tunnels. "I hope you didn't leave anything you were fond of inside."

In defiance of her request, Yamato landed at her side. "Sakura, what is this?" he asked sharply.

Sakura glanced over at her nominative superior, but her real attention was still focused on Sasuke.

"That's it?" he asked, even though his arm still hung limply at his side.

"That's part one," Sakura said. Stepping back into the rising dust, she drew a small scroll from one of the holsters on her thigh. Biting her thumb, she swiped her thumb across the characters in a smooth motion. "Trap Art: Tsuchigumo's Nest." Above the opened scroll, a heavy ball of wire and viciously hooked kunai appeared. Snatching it, Sakura threw it high into the air, where it suddenly began to unwind, the kunai grappling into the cliff face like harpoons being thrown at a hunted whale.

The dust from the explosions was abruptly cut off as the tunnels collapsed, which meant only the wires near the place where they'd exited where visible. The rest shimmered occasionally in the sunlight, but as Sakura leaped into the air, lightly stepping from one line to another, she knew it might have looked as if she walked on air.

_A spider never gets caught in its own web_, she thought with amusement as she looked down on a Sasuke who was clearly beginning to lose patience with this battle. Sheathing his sword abruptly, he slipped off his bracers. Sakura barely caught sight of the storage seal painted on the inner protectors when she had to move, dancing through the filaments as Sasuke tried to impale her with a swarm of shuriken. Her wire was high enough quality that only a few snapped under the assault.

Leaping into the open space of an especially wide gap, she appeared behind Sasuke, this time with her own tanto already drawn. But Sasuke had activated his Sharingan in the moment she was moving too fast for her eyes to work properly and when his chokuto came crashing down, it easily severed the tanto and might have spit open her chest of she hadn't retreated back up into the web so quickly.

_So he can channel lightning in that blade, making it sharper. Some sort of special elemental metal. _"Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly," she murmured as she looked down on Sasuke. His red eyes glared up at her, but she wasn't afraid of those eyes. "Won't you come up?" she invited aloud as she crouched quite casually on an almost invisible thread.

Sasuke smirked suddenly. "Why don't you come down?" Lightning quick, his hand was pressed against the ground and Sakura scurried along the wires until she was perching on two kunai that had happened to stab into the wall near each other. Whereas the shuriken hadn't been heavy enough to snap the wire, the three headed snake certainly was.

But it didn't go unpunished as the razor wire cut into the mass of its body, spreading the poison that coated these wires as well into its bloodstream. Snakes normally didn't scream, but this one did. There would be now one less of the great snake summons, Sakura thought distantly as she watched it thrash, some of the wires that had snapped under tension whipping back and curling deeply into scales, then muscle, some winding deep into spines, burrowing as if it were alive and liked to spill blood just for the joy of it.

As she watched it dying, twitching on the ground, she asked, "What was that supposed to do?"

Sasuke actually snarled back at her. Sakura arched a single pink brow. "Pitiful. Truly." Splaying her hand over her face, Sakura did what neither Naruto or Kakashi would have ever thought of doing. She henged into Uchiha Itachi, just as she had last seen him. "Is that all your hate for me amounts to, foolish little brother?" she asked in that dry, stoic tone that she could still remember all these years later.

"Sakura," Sasuke said in a dangerous voice that shook with rage, "What do you think you're doing?"

Using a simple genjutsu, Sakura appeared to burst into crows as she dropped to the ground, coalescing back into Itachi at the bottom, hand on her hat to keep it from tumbling from her head. "What's the matter, Sasuke?" she taunted in her own voice. "You were so hesitant before. I thought perhaps it was because you and I lacked a bond to make our battle truly _extraordinary_. So here is the one bond you say you have left. Won't you let me see your hatred?"

"Sakura, what are you trying to do?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"I want to truly meet the boy who is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Meet?"

Sakura sighed, the disappointed sigh of an older brother and she watched as Sasuke flinched. "Sasuke, if you truly have no bonds left, why waste our time talking?"

"That eager to die, Sa-ku-ra?"

Sakura removed her hat, knowing it would give Sasuke a better look at the face he despised.

"I can see through your henge, Sakura. It's pointless to keep it."

_And I'll see through you, Sasuke, without any special eyes at all. _Kunai filling her hands, Sakura dashed forward, sliding underneath Sasuke's chokuto swing, reminding herself that his reach was much longer than hers. Slashing upwards, she made the loose white fabric of his top ripple with the breeze of her movement, but he was too quick to be hit so easily. Sakura knew only a few of the techniques of Itachi's repertoire, but she stuck to them faithfully, managing to singe Sasuke with a wily fire technique, but he drew a narrow slice along her shoulder and another along her side for the trouble.

He was so intent on her that Yamato's technique took him by surprise, wrapping him in sturdy tree limbs that for a moment held him stationary. Before he could use his Chidori Nagashi technique to free himself, Sakura opened a sealing paper that was little more than the size of an explosive tag. Smiling grimly as she took hold of the specially blown glass sphere filling with a white powder, Sakura tossed it underhand like an uncertain civilian child might a baseball. The glass shattered on impact and white dust filled the air around Sasuke.

Sakura wasn't certain how much of it he breathed in before his technique managed to free him, because Yamato's roots proved surprisingly lightning resistant, like a tree that refused to fall from a single lightning strike. But the powder was so light it clung to him as he moved and when she saw him stagger, Sakura took her chance.

He blinked hazily as she appeared before him. "Sa—," was the only syllable she allowed him to speak before she punched him low in the solar plexus, feeling a sort of satisfaction as his bones collapsed under her fist.

Surprise and pain almost roused him. Jade eyes cold, Sakura leaned close as he bowed over her fist, gasping for breath. "I will break you, Uchiha Sasuke," she whispered.

An open palm strike dislocated the shoulder of his sword arm. As he reeled back, Sakura followed, another strike to his throat making him fall to the ground and struggle to breathe. Sakura placed her bootclad foot daintily over the tibia and fibula of his right leg, then she stomped down until she heard a sound like thick sticks snapping. He couldn't even draw enough breath to cry out and she coldly wondered if she had broken a rib badly enough to pierce a lung.

With his left hand, though his lips were slowly turning blue, he struggled to reach for his sword. Sakura put her foot over that reaching hand and may have shattered it into pieces, but Yamato took her by the shoulders and pulled her away from him. "What do you think you're doing?"

Sakura shrugged angrily out of his grasp. "Not even when I looked like Uchiha Itachi."

"What?"

Sakura could feel her eyes burn. "He never took me seriously. Not once."

A familiar voice called out from the rim of the canyon. "Sakura, watch out!"

Sakura spun on her heel to see an enormous snake summon bearing down on her, hood spread wide. She half noted Yamato using his technique to raise a wooden barrier between them, but Sakura slammed her own palm to the ground, being generous with her chakra in her anger.

With a roar, a burgundy tiger easily the size of the serpent poured into being with its mouth already spread wide, fangs bigger than Sakura's head ready to crush anything unlucky enough to be caught. It clamped down on empty air as the cobra dodged to the side.

"Orochimaru, you will increase my tribute for this," the snake hissed.

The great tiger, which had a single stunning yellow eye, the empty socket of the other covered with a black eyepatch, turned a baleful gaze at Sakura. It also wore an oversized set of rosewood prayer beads looped around its neck, bright green tassels dancing across the massive stretch of its chest. "Do I look like a mongoose?" he rumbled.

"Sorry, Ekie Boshi. But I won't summon Byakko, unless I cannot avoid it."

There was a deep grumbling from the tiger. "Next time, summon Kagasuki or Amefuri."

"Afraid to face me?" the snake hissed, showing off impressive fangs. Up above, Sakura half noted that Naruto was again facing off with Orochimaru and Kabuto and felt more than saw Yamato leave her to join him.

Ekie laughed, a sounds like stones being shaken in a sack. "It's demeaning to call out a tiger general to deal with a snake. Even the king of snakes."

Sakura dancing out of the way of the snake king's coils as he roiled past, constructing around Ekie Boshi's body as he tried to remove his head from under the tiger's paw, where he'd batted him down as the snake had tried to strike. Catching up Sasuke's body, she flashed to a safer distance from the titanic battles occurring. Laying him out on the ground, she slid his sword into the loops meant to hold her not broken tanto.

He curled into himself, but she could see the effort it cost him. Crouching down, Sakura examined him visually. "Doesn't look like you have a collapsed lung," she told him clinically. "Now I'm going to give you a choice. I can break all the major bones in your body so you can't run away or I poison you."

"Some…choices," he wheezed.

"Option three is I cut your body into little pieces and let the crows dispose of it. In that option, I take your eyes. Personally I favor option three, but now that Naruto's awake, he might be upset about it."

"What…the…hell happened to you?"

Sakura met his eyes evenly. "Just following orders, Sasuke. It's not personal." Reaching into her pouch of many wonders, Sakura's deft finger ran over the symbols engraved in the tops of the little vials. Coming across a familiar one, she hesitated, then pulled it out.

Madara's approval was a surge of heat that made the pads of her fingers tingle and she almost dropped the little capsule that had a picture of a scorpion roughly scratched into the top. She'd reverse engineered it from the antidotes that she still carried with her. Remember the pain of it in her veins, she calmly uncapped it, dipping a fresh senbon into the liquid.

"Paralyzing drug?" Sasuke said and she noted his breathing was finally easing. He'd make a move soon.

"Not quite," she replied, then stabbed the senbon deep into one of the paralyzing pressure points near his armpit. Moving in close, she whispered, "A little gift from the Akatsuki. Take this time to think over your life choices, Sasuke. We'll talk again soon."

Leaving him lying there was difficult, because somehow, even though his shoulder was dislocated and she'd broken one of his legs, stung him with the scorpion's poison, she thought he might crawl away. But she knew her duty as a ninja of Konoha was not simply to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. If she could help to destroy one or both of the others, Danzo might be more understanding of her failure.

She chose Kabuto and watched the silver-haired nin's eyes go wide behind his glasses. Shoving them up the bridge, he offered her a smile. "I see you haven't been slacking since your chunnin exam, Sakura-chan."

Thinking how satisfying it might be ram her jutte through his eye and into his brain, Sakura smiled politely back. "I have you to thank, in a way."

"How so?"

"If Orochimaru hadn't been after Sasuke, I might still be that little girl in the red dress, shivering at every sound in the dark woods."

"Is this where you tell me you're the sound in the woods now?"

Sakura chuckled. "Not quite. See…" and she used the Raipo she had never dared to use against Sasuke, drawing his sword with her free hand and ramming it through Kabuto's back, feeling the resistance against the tip of the blade as it hit his sternum. "I'm silent as the grave."

Even though she was confident she'd at least nicked his heart, Kabuto still had the energy to chuckle himself, drawing that strangely curved kunai she'd seen him use before. Because she'd heard stories and seen first-hand a medic-nin's ability for regeneration, Sakura didn't pull the sword straight out, twisting instead, a half rotation that left the sword's cutting up looking down heaven and she followed that line straight up, feeling the catch of bone and muscle as his body tried to prevent the intrusion.

As his body collapsed limply to the ground, Sakura glanced at the chokuto. "I might take this in payment for breaking my tanto, Sasuke. Tsunade-shishou gave that to me when I made chunnin." And because Sakura had become just that paranoid, she proceeded to quarter Kabuto's body before drawing out the scrolls usually used by hunter-nins to dispose of bodies.

A gigantic puff of smoke from behind her made her turn to see that only Ekie remained. "Damn coward ran," he roared to her.

Which meant his master probably had as well. Sakura clenched her fist, but she knew she should be satisfied with capturing Sasuke and destroying Kabuto. But that rationality was almost crushed down by Madara's sense that only total defeat was an acceptable conclusion.

But still she bowed to the tiger. "Thank you for coming."

His tail whipped angrily. "Next time there better be a fucking army if you call me out." With that he disappeared in a haze of smoke, but a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Another reason she always calling on Enkie Boshi even though he consumed so much chakra was he would never refuse her aid after she'd gone through the trouble, no matter how gruff he acted.

With the pride of the tigers, that hadn't always been the case, but they all loved the idea of "righteousness." If convinced the battle was for a good cause, a tiger would fight until their very soul gave way. The tiger summoning scroll had been sealed in that case, locked away, since the reign of the first Hokage, so everyone involved had been surprised at her first successful summoning, when the dog-sized Tatara Boshi had appeared.

Sasuke hadn't managed to crawl away. Sweat beaded at his forehead and he looked positively ghastly. Naruto gasped when he saw him, half-supporting Sai, who'd taken the brunt of one of Orochimaru's attacks.

"He escaped?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Yamato confirmed. "But we did remarkably well, considering it was a fight against a sannin."

_At the end of the day, they're nothing more than old ninja_, she couldn't help but think. _And I'm only a young ninja hoping to live to grow old._

"Did you do this to Sasuke?" Naruto asked her quietly.

Sakura glanced over at him, but didn't meet his eyes. "Yes."

Sasuke was shivering now. "It looks like he's been poisoned," Yamato observed.

"Yes."

"But why?" Naruto demanded. "You already beat him, Sakura!"

"He ran away from Konoha once, Naruto. I couldn't take that risk again."

"But…," Naruto hesitated.

Sai shakily stood on his own. "What type of poison did you use, hag?"

"I learned it in the desert." If Kakashi had been there, she would have earned a sharp glance, but Naruto was either upset enough he didn't catch the reference or perhaps he didn't care. "Let's take him back."

A/N: Wondering what might have happened if Orochimaru had taken over instead of Madara? I've included the scenario from an earlier draft of this chapter. Not exactly an "omake" since it isn't really that funny, but I thought some people might enjoy it. Cheers. **Because this part was causing some confusion: What follows after this note is not "canon" to the story.** If you're satisfied by Madara, stop now, because this was only included for fun.

-X-X-X-

Sasuke had tried to kill Sakura. Sasuke had tried to kill Sakura. That was the refrain that beat through Naruto's head. And Sakura had stood there, eyes empty, and almost let him. Yamato had been the one to take the blow and Sasuke'd made some dumb-ass remark about that "being the wrong way to block".

He still wasn't one hundred percent after that incident with the four tails, but Naruto gathered himself, preparing to confront Sasuke.

That was when Sakura laughed. The hairs at the back of his neck rose. Because it wasn't Sakura's laugh, high and pure and clear, like springtime. It was a deep, masculine chuckle of amusement that had razor-edges.

"Sakura?" he ventured.

She didn't even glance in his direction. Sasuke was watching her with a scornful expression. "What's the matter, Sa-ku-ra?" he mocked.

Sakura looked at him, a faintly amused smile crinkling up the edges of her pink lips. "Sasuke-kun," she crooned, then she was suddenly behind Sasuke and Naruto could see the faint widening of his eyes that betrayed his surprise, "Won't you bleed for me?"

Sasuke barely used his own speed to flash out the way of a downward strike, her hand full of senbon that glistened wetly.

Looking over at Sakura, Sakura smiled wider, flicking her hand so that the senbon spread like the spines of a fan. Running them delicately over the surface of her lips, Naruto almost shuddered as her tongue flicked out to taste the poison. "No? Well, that's hardly any fun. What kind of game is it if someone doesn't bleed?"

"Game? Sakura-chan, what are you talking about?" Naruto demanded shakily.

Still using the senbon like she might a fan, Sakura slapped the group closed, a shining bar of silvered metal. "Think of it like this, Naruto. How tedious our lives might have been if Sasuke hadn't betrayed everything he ever called himself loyal to. Day after day, living as if peace was our profession. Saving the bad men from themselves, rescuing children, and chasing cats. Think of how far we wouldn't have come."

"Sakura-chan, you don't know what you're saying." Naruto's own voice trembled as he tried to understand. It was like someone had flipped a switch and the person standing before him wasn't _his _Sakura anymore.

"Don't I?" She laughed again and this time Naruto's skin crawled. "Peace is stagnation," she told him. "The bureaucrats grow fat and lazy upon it. The people become petty. And the ninja, the ninja grow _weak_."

"Sakura-chan..."

"Look at him," she indicated Sasuke, who tensed imperceptibly. "He despised us all, Naruto. So we use him as he deserves. Do you know how a ninja stands at the top, Naruto-kun? They do it upon a pile of corpses. That is what to be Hokage _means_. All your enemies are dead or so crippled they have no choice but to serve you. Look at the house of Senju, who subjugated the Uchiha. Sarutobi, who foiled his rival Danzo for his entire reign. And then look to Tsunade. She is not weak because of a lack of strength, it is because she allowed her enemy to grow powerful."

This was all just a very bad genjutsu. It had to be.

Sakura's eyes glittered. "So crush him underneath your heel, Naruto-kun. A Hokage does not save a traitor. A Hokage destroys them."

"Sasuke is my friend," Naruto bit out, growing angry with this Sakura. "If I can't save him I don't deserve to be Hokage."

Jade eyes narrowed, but the smile might have belonged to a demon. "Lie," she pronounced cuttingly. "What purpose does the Hokage serve? To favor his friends and save them from all danger? What a glorious foolishness that would be. I wonder if the village wouldn't fall under such a Hokage."

"A Hokage," she enunciated clearly, "is nothing more than a man playing chess."

"Chess?" Naruto asked blankly.

"He must protect his king and only his king. Everything else must be sacrificed for it, without hesitation or regret. His children, his lover, his parents. Friends, strangers, enemies, all must be sent out to the field of battle with the expectation that they will fall. A Hokage who cannot even sever a single bond for the good of his village is a _fool _and deserves to be destroyed in his complacency," Sakura hissed.

"So, Naruto-kun, this is your chance. Look, before you is the one who stands between you and your dream." Her hand, suddenly empty, waved toward Sasuke again. "There is no one here who could be counted as a real tragedy if they died in the fallout. Two strangers, two enemies to Konoha." Sakura extended one hand toward Naruto. "If you decide now to resolve yourself to kill him, I will _make _you Hokage."

Stunned, he couldn't respond, but Sakura smiled again, more gently now. "I'll even help you kill him, Naruto-kun. Won't it be a delight?"

Sasuke scowled. "Overconfident, aren't you, Sakura? You couldn't touch me."

"Dear Sasuke-kun, you will be aware when I try to touch you," Sakura replied in high good humor. "But you really need to remain silent until Naruto-kun makes his decision."

"Sakura-"

Sakura cut him off. "Sasuke-kun, you really are blind, aren't you? Do you think that Sakura-chan-" her voice cut off and her hand rose cover her eyes. "Get down, you filthy snake," she growled, "go back to where you belong."

Like she was shaking off water, shudders wracked Sakura's body. As if she was surfacing from deep water, she gasped. The eyes that opened when her hand were removed where clear and bright and _green, _but Naruto watched her cautiously, unsure what had just happened.

In fact, everyone conscious seemed to share the sentiment.

-X-X-X-

Sasuke frowned internally. _What the hell? _At first, it had been the battle he had expected. Naruto could still be led by the nose when it came to emotions. Sakura had frozen like a rabbit cornered by a hawk. And while replacing him with a look-alike was kind of amusing in a pathetic way, the other two were nothing more than irrelevant Konoha trash. Easy enough to dispose of, especially when they more or less leaped into Kusanagi.

And then he'd lost track of Sakura, just for a moment. The next he knew, she was speechmaking like she was in the running for megalomaniac of the year. Ignoring him completely. And then she'd demanded Naruto kill him, which wasn't what he'd expected at all. A man playing chess? A Hokage nothing but a ninja standing on a pile of corpses?

From the corner of his eye, he glanced up at the old snake, who was watching the proceedings with undisguised interest. Kabuto just looked shell-shocked.

Sasuke glanced back at Sakura, who looked much calmer. Flicking irritably at a long braid so that it fell into place in front of her shoulder, Sakura met his eyes directly. Which, as Naruto might have been able to tell her, was as poor a battle strategy as that jounin's.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," she said. "He means a lot of harm, but usually only she has to listen to him."

Sasuke blinked, then used his speed to appear in front of her. Again, he frowned internally. For a move of that speed, people took a moment to refocus. But even though her eyes didn't track him quite fast enough, she didn't look surprised. And if the blade at his throat was any indication, unlike Naruto she wasn't unprepared.

"Can you really do it?" he asked her calmly.

Sakura sighed, long and slow. "Look at me, Uchiha," she demanded softly. "Really look at me."

Activating his Sharingan, he used the same technique he had on Naruto, intending only to scare her a little before killing her. Watching Sakura die in front of him would surely be enough motivation for Naruto.

It was like sticking his mind into a steel trap. His senses, one by one, were bound by steel strong chakra threads, slowly submitting to whatever jutsu she'd activated. Except, with the Sharingan, he could see through jutsu, even genjutsu, except of the highest level. Jutsu that someone like Sakura just wasn't capable of.

_What the hell is this?_

"Madness," a very familiar voice answered him.

"Orochimaru?" he asked sharply. Taking in his surroundings, he found himself in what appeared to be a flower garden. Tightening his grip on his katana, stretching his senses, Sasuke flinched. He couldn't sense what was real or false in this environment. This hadn't happened since he was a gennin. _What was going on?_

"It's Orochimaru-sama to you," the silky voice reminded him and the form of the man he'd followed for so long appeared from behind a behemoth of a maple.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. "What kind of jutsu is this?"

Orochimaru smiled. "I'm always here, Sasuke-kun. The question is, what are you doing here?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied, still searching for the release point, the weakness inherent to a genjutsu.

Orochimaru watched with faintly interested eyes as he slit his palm on the blade of his katana, but unlike the Orochimaru he was used to, those golden eyes didn't follow him with a perverse mix of avarice and propriety. Instead, he couldn't help but feel Orochimaru found him slightly boring. "It's not a jutsu," Orochimaru told him after a few minutes of struggle. "Or rather, it's not Sakura-chan's jutsu. Although it is amusing to watch you fight against your own technique."

Sasuke blinked once, slowly. Yes, he'd used the Sharingan to enter into her mind. But very few people, unless they dedicated an extraordinary amount of time to their meditation, had such a fully realized mental plane. The place that they imaged when they retreated deep inside. This garden wasn't so surprising in that light.

"Where's Sakura?" he asked. "I doubt Sakura imagines herself as Orochimaru." Which did little to answer the question of why the snake was even here.

"I've been here since before you left, Sasuke-kun," the Sannin answered him, though he was certain he hadn't spoken aloud. "Sakura-chan and I are the same. But if want to speak to the original, she's this way."

He set off at a slow and steady pace, winding between trees and bushes, all of them in full bloom. Sasuke's right eye twitched at such overwhelming natural beauty. If this was her internal self, it was no wonder she'd been so irritating.

It happened without warning. With a roar like a god being thrown down from heaven and a sound like thunder, the trees before him collapsed under a massive furred body. A muzzle rose from the mess, snapping and howling.

"The Kyuubi?" he asked, not realizing for a moment that he spoken aloud.

Then earth rumbled, and again, the roar sounded . His stunned eyes took a moment to communicate to his brain what he was seeing. An equally massive she-goat, with the great curling horns of a ram and a tail that was a _snake_ hissing above its back, thundered toward the downed fox, coming down on its rib cage with its horned head like an avalanche down a mountain.

The call of victory shook the ground, even though the she-goat's flanks were bloody. "Sakura-chan," Orochimaru called out, "the Uchiha came to play."

Green. The great eyes that stared down at him were green. Green as the eyes of the girl who was floating in the sky a moment later. A breeze rustled Sasuke's hair as air rushed to fill the space the she-goat's mass had taken. Her feet touched the ground confidently and she didn't even look back as the form of the Kyuubi also dissapeared.

Sakura's eyes focused on him. "It's not the Kyuubi," she informed him. A moment later, "No, I can't read what little mind you haven't squandered, Sasuke."

"Then how-?"

"Because you never were very good at disguising your expression. And I dedicated entirely too much of my childhood to watching it."

From the wreckage behind her, a red-armored figure rose, brushing off twigs and splinters with a quiet competence. Sasuke actually froze when strange Sharingan eyes met his. "What is this?" he demanded.

Sakura didn't even glance back as the man strode forward to join her, looming at her shoulder. "He's unimportant. You need to leave, Sasuke."

"What happened to 'really look at me'?" he mocked.

Instead of answering, Sakura glanced at Orochimaru, who shrugged. "I believe it was probably Haku. I was ripped from control of the body rather rudely."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "It was very rude to assume control of my body in the first place."

Orochimaru looked back, unperturbed. "Would you rather I allow the Uchiha to kill us all? I believe I made great strides in motivating Naruto-kun."

"You didn't," Sakura said rather forcefully, as if she could wish it true.

"We had a lovely chat about what it meant to be Hokage," Orochimaru said, a slow smile spreading. "I believe I may have given the game away. You might have to play for real now, Sakura-chan. Whatever will you do?"

"You complete and utter bastard," Sakura said flatly. But no surprise.

"You knew the rules. Lose consciousness and this body you call your own is little more than the puppet of whoever chooses to fill it. But only for a time, and then it opens to the next Kingdom and the ruler there. You're up to three. Only two more to go, and then you could truly become a magnificent monster."

The expression of Sakura's face was tightly controlled. "Sasuke, if you don't leave now, I will crush your mind in the jaws of mine and you will spend the rest of your life a drooling invalid."

Sasuke scoffed. "This is my technique, Sakura."

He stiffened when he realized she was already behind him, one hand cradling his throat. "My mind, Sasuke."

-X-X-X-

Sakura watched in frustrated silence as Sasuke's presence withdrew. All this time, all this time, and now this. "I'll report I had a breakdown. It isn't that unusual in ninja under stress. I'll have to undergo evaluation and therapy, but with any luck, Naruto won't think much of it."

Orochimaru smiled infuriating and Sakura wished, for the first time in a long time, that she could actually kill the snake. He'd only been lulling her into her own kind of complacency, she saw that now, and he'd snatched the first opportunity for freedom. "What were you doing with the Uchiha, Sakura-chan?" he said slyly, his golden eyes alight.

"Meeting him," Sakura said without inflection. "Send me back, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru smirked. "I hope you had a pleasant time in the Garden of Ruin, Sakura-chan." As the jaws of the great white shake closed down around her, Sakura traced the path in her mind. Garden of Ruin, the Blasted Land, the Forest of Bone with its Hall of Iron Pillars. Madara Uchiha and disappointed ambition. Haku and despair. Orochimaru and fear.


	20. Stranger in a Strange Land

Disclaimer: Still don't own this franchise. Copyright belongs to the appropriate parties.

A/N: Thank you very much to everyone who responded to the last chapter. Your reviews were amazing and I hope you'll enjoy this next installment just as much. Because into every drama-filled life, a little fluff must come. That, and it makes beautiful contrast.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-

Stranger in a Strange Land

Tenten stretched luxuriously, grateful that another mission had been successfully completed.

"Chalk up another one to the power of youth!" Gai-sensei declared.

Lee was the only one who cheered with him, but their combined enthusiasm was enough for ten shinobi. Normally this was the part that drew all sorts of strange glances and made Tenten embarrassed, even after all this time, to be seen with her teammates, but the marketplace they were standing in was crowded and bustling enough that no one paid them any mind.

"Yosh!" Lee declared when the right and proper observations of the glorious benevolence of the god of Youth had ended, "Do we have time to look around while we're here, Gai-sensei?"

Gai shot Lee a thumbs up that was accompanied by a flash of white teeth. "Of course! This town is one of the major crossroads for merchant caravans. There's no telling what you might be able to find."

"Alright!" Lee clenched his fist, fire burning in his eyes. "Then I will find a souvenir for my lovely Sakura-can!"

Gai-sensei teared up unnecessarily. "Lee. So gallant!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. Even after all this time, Lee still hadn't given up on the pink-haired nin. As Lee and Gai-sensei dashed off, she was left with Neji. Glancing over at her stoic partner, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement. Her own fledging crush had never really been properly quashed either, but the longer she was with him, the more Tenten doubted that Neji would ever be "the one" for her.

Don't get her wrong, she'd nurtured a special kind of hero worship for him since her days at the Academy, but being seriously involved with Hyuuga Neji meant being related to his family. And while Hinata was a sweetheart, Hiashi-sama gave her the chills and she thought Hanabi was snobbish. And those were only his most immediate relatives. Lurking within the walls of that compound were a whole host of elders to critique a new bride's every move.

This had only occurred to her as she'd gotten older and recovered from the first pink flush of her admiration. When you were eleven, it was romantic to overcome hardship to be together with your lover. When you were fifteen and a member of that fast-maturing gender known as kunoichi, the daily hardships that would be put upon a member of the Hyuuga clan, even if you were welcomed, seemed a sort of gilded cage of stiff-necked propriety.

Not that Neji had displayed too much encouragement, either. It was disappointing but not devastating. But there was still a giddy feeling riding her heart as they slowly browsed the stalls.

Neji hesitated over a certain display. Peering around him, Tenten raised a brow. "Hair pins?"

His hand pointed one out and Tenten obligingly examined it closer. Rather too austere for her, if she was willing to face the embarrassment of admitting she liked her accessories a little on the cute and playful side. A simple double-pronged hair accessory, it had a large jade bead on the end, with a little trailing chain that would dangle down, three tiny bells resting against the display case.

Tenten understood immediately who it would be for. "I don't know about the bells."

"Hm. I just thought it would match the beads she wears in her bangs." There was subtle disappointment in his voice.

"Buy it for her anyway," Tenten encouraged, suddenly struck with a sense of exasperated fondness. As Yamanaka Ino had been known to say, any and all gestures from the softer side of shinobi should be encouraged, because if you didn't train them early, they all grew up to be as hardheaded as rocks. Tenten was fairly certain the girl had been complaining about Nara Shikamaru and her own frustrated matchmaking efforts, but no one could deny that when Neji had first come to her, "emotionally stunted" would be putting the issue politely.

Had she wanted it to be her? In a way. She liked Neji as a person and there was that subconscious knowledge that making the Hyuuga prodigy her own would be a coup for the girlish Tenten that she never let people see. But Tenten had always been even more mature than even her kunoichi peers. The clan that had adopted her had been nothing but loving, but the early memory of being an orphan had never left her. So Tenten had resolved, just after deciding she would become a kunoichi that was the equal of Tsunade-sama, that she would find someone that would choose her, only her, and always her.

It was an excessive demand for a ninja, who would always have the loyalties of village and clan to consider, but the dream still lurked in her heard. And for that reason, she'd always known that Neji, who could only define himself by his clan, might never be her final choice.

"If it's from you, she'll wear it, won't she?" Tenten prodded.

At this, the merchant, obviously eager to make the sale of an expensive item, said, "Choosing a gift for that special someone?"

Neji stared at him blankly for a moment. "For a teammate."

The merchant looked a little taken aback and Tenten resisted the urge to facepalm. Now she knew what Ino had meant the last time the purple-clad kunoichi had managed to rope her into a girl's night out. Which really meant playing wingman for the vivacious blonde as she flirted her way through the patrons of one of the more respectable bars in Konoha. Usually Sakura got that dubious honor and Tenten only came along when Ino had also managed to get her claws into Hinata, presenting the blushing heiress with the choicest of her catches.

_Someone's going to have to take pity on that poor boy and tell him he likes her, _Ino had said idly. Tenten hadn't paid much attention, because it had occurred between her Thirty-Six Stratagems to make Nara Shikamaru admit that he and Temari were (a) already dating or (b) suffering through the pangs of an inter-village love affair and her Six Secret Teachings for matchmaking an heiress, but now she saw what she'd meant. _Men are dense. It's biological_, was also a favorite maxim of the kunoichi.

Ino was probably the only kunoichi of their generation who would be really suited for seduction missions in the future. It was a good thing both her teammates were rather laid back, though goodness knew how that might change when they actually saw the middle-aged official who would be offered the chance to lay hands on her for information. Distasteful, yes, but the bleak reality for pretty kunoichi with social skills. Though by that time, Ino might be able to have them spilling all their secrets with a single coy glance and nothing more than a few leading statements.

Speaking of leading statements… "Does Sakura-san buy you gifts too?" Tenten asked playfully as Neji had the merchant wrap the hairpin.

The look in Neji's white eyes was fond and reflective. "Not often. But every time we left the country, she brought back souvenirs for her team. She kept the ones for Naruto in a box at her house. I wonder…."

"Wonder what?"

"If she's given them to him yet."

-X-X-X-

Sakura met eyes the color of an outraged sky evenly. She could tell that Naruto was wrestling with his own anger, mingled with a kind of relief that she had managed to secure Sasuke, no matter what methods she'd used. "Why?" That single word was a heavy weight.

They had made camp for the night, Yamato tending the fire and pretending he couldn't hear their conversation at the edge of the firelight, Sai watching them like they were some sort of television program. Sasuke lay unconscious and well-secured. Sakura hadn't yet given him the antidote. Tomorrow morning, but not before. Sasori's poison was slow and lingering. It wouldn't cause permanent organ damage yet.

"You'll need to be more specific, Naruto," Sakura replied.

"Why did you attack Sasuke like that?" he exclaimed. They were standing, facing each other, no more than three feet apart, but she could sense the gap between their feelings were as wide as the Valley of the End.

Madara still filled her, made her even and resolute. "Orders. We needed to bring him back."

"Wasn't there another way, Sakura-chan?"

Every ninja knew their own body, because it was their most valuable weapon. Sakura evaluated hers, from the shallow cuts from his sword to the muscle fatigue she knew had been heightened by Sasuke's modified Chidori. It had only taken ten minutes after the fighting had stopped and the adrenaline had drained away for her hands to begin trembling, ever so slightly. She wasn't like Naruto. Sakura couldn't fight on with nothing more than guts and determination after her body had failed her. She couldn't afford to fight with her heart, so she'd used her head, and all that filled it were the whispers of dead men and monsters.

So the answer was simple. "No."

Naruto hesitated, then he reached out, his broader hands encircling her wrists. Sakura tensed fractionally, training telling her this was entrapment, but she relaxed into the hold because it was Naruto. Naruto, who would never hurt her intentionally. He brought their foreheads together with a soft _thump._ "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Sorry that you had to bring him back by yourself," he whispered.

Sakura closed her eyes, uncomfortable. "If Orochimaru had interfered, I wouldn't have been able to bring him back."

"You were amazing out there, Sakura-chan. What happened? You'd already beat him, but then you…"

Sakura sighed, a slow exhale that did nothing to relieve the tension knot pulling at the back of her neck. "Sometimes it's not enough to just beat someone, Naruto. At the Valley of the End, Sasuke still walked away. This time, I couldn't let him." Not only for herself, but also for Danzo and Tsunade, and for the whole of Konoha.

If a moment came when she was asked to kill Sasuke, would she be able to? The Sakura of two years ago would answer angrily, "Absolutely not!" But there was a lot more grey in this world than that Sakura had allowed for, the Sakura who always thought she would always be in the white. But now she knew, for someone out in this great wide world, she was the enemy, the villain, the murderer. And that changed how she looked at herself.

Sakura would struggle to the point of death for her teammates, even Sasuke, but when the time came to choose between friendship and loyalty to Konohagakure's interests….

_Don't think of unnecessary things. It will only make you hesitate. _Madara's voice rang through her, but Sakura couldn't through of the chill of a sudden realization. Gazing into Naruto's eyes, she saw truth and the future.

For the last few years, she had told herself, _Only a few more years, a few more days, a few more hours, then Sasuke will be home. _And then she could cease the dangerous games she played with her Hokage and Danzou, stop the missions that made her fear to touch her friends, as if the blood on her hands was a disease that could be caught. Children's blood, taken to secure a father's fear, women's blood, to still whispering tongues, a mother's blood, to begin a war within a clan and destroy their power.

But the missions wouldn't stop. Not while Naruto could look on her and Sasuke both with such kind eyes, full of bewilderment and anger, but still gentle with her. Like she was a prophet with a cruel god, she caught a glimpse of her future. One day she would become Naruto's hidden blade and she would die in the shadows.

_Kami-sama, don't let it be true_, Sakura begged. _Benevolent spirits of the earth and heaven, grant me a kinder path to walk. _Because if she kept to that path, she knew that one day Sakura would become Amanozako, violence brought to heel by the orders of the Hokage and nothing more.

"Naruto…," her voice trembled, but she couldn't make herself ask for help. The words wouldn't come. Too many secrets and too much death stood between them. So she swallowed down the tears. "I'll bring him home, but you'll have to keep him there," she whispered.

"We'll do it together," Naruto promised her.

Fondly, Sakura ran a hand through wild blonde hair. "The promise of a lifetime?" she asked with gentle mockery.

"Believe it, Sakura-chan!"

She would never be clean again.

-X-X-X-

Sakura allowed herself to collapse heavily against the wall of her bedroom, Sasuke's sword rattling in its sheath from the impact. She slowly slid down the wall, collapsing inward until she'd tucked her knees close to her body, arms wrapped around them, head bowed. The warmth of tears stung her eyes, but she didn't make a sound.

She was so occupied by her own misery, she barely registered the form who entered through her open window.

In a moment, Neji was kneeling by her side. "Sakura?" he asked carefully. "Did the mission…?"

Sakura experienced a swift burst of anger. _How dare he see her when she was this vulnerable. _But it died away as soon as it came. She gritted her teeth and met Neji's eyes. They weren't kind and open like Naruto's. Neji was more closed than that. And she was grateful. "It was a success. Uchiha Sasuke is back."

Unlike Naruto, Neji did not ask her what was wrong. Instead he glanced back out her window, where the late afternoon sun was starting the slow descent into evening. "Wait here," he commanded her and was off again in a flash.

Sakura allowed her head to fall back against the wall. _Why am I so weak? _

For once, there was no answer from an internal voice. Madara had sunk back down into the depths of the Third Kingdom as she'd passed under the gates of Konoha, which had made her stumble as his indomitable will was stripped away. Orochimaru hadn't risen up again to take his place and there was a faint curiosity at that, but she refused to be worried for the fate of the gleeful psychopath in her head.

It wasn't ten minutes later Neji returned. "We have a new mission."

For the first time in years, Sakura wanted to whine like her eleven year old self. _I'm tired. Tired deep down in places where people can't see. _

But her body stood and she tugged her kimono top straight. "What is it?"

"C-ranked transport."

Sakura blinked, certain she'd misheard. "Come again?"

"Direct orders from the Hokage. We're to go to Earth country. Tsunade-sama provided us with a list of inns. She wants us to bring back the best beverage on the menu from each one."

Despite herself, Sakura felt her lips twitch. "Duration?"

"Two weeks."

"Team?"

"We're it."

For the first time in what felt like years, Sakura's laughter burbled up like water from a spring and tears really did start to fall. _I am loved, _she thought with wonderment. Like she'd been blind and was suddenly made whole, Sakura was reminded why she undertook all those missions. It wasn't through some blind sense of duty or some robotic ambition, it was because of these people, these friends who made up her Konoha. She might never have Naruto's courage to face their world with a smile that held no secrets, but she could protect these precious people.

"Thank you, Neji," and more heartfelt emotion than either of them was comfortable with spilled into her words.

To cover her sudden embarrassment, Sakura quickly packed, sealing oddments into her ever-present scrolls that held most of the vital supplies for missions. Because they were going to be in a foreign country, civvies made their way into the scrolls as well, the clothing that she rarely had occasion to wear but her mother continued to buy regardless.

And, for once acting almost as the teenager she was in truth, she dashed eagerly downstairs to tell her parents she was leaving. Her mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner and she looked up from her preparations as Sakura entered.

"Hello, Sakura-chan. Did your mission go well?" Her voice was almost as even and disinterested as Sakura's own and Sakura flinched.

"Yes. I'm being dispatched again."

"For how long this time?"

"Two weeks."

Her mother hummed thoughtfully, but she resumed her butchery of the green onions she'd been preparing with such dexterity that Sakura drolly thought that a jounin wouldn't be able to match her knife-handling skills. "The Uzumaki boy will be going with you?"

"No. It will just be Hyuuga-san and me. It's a personal mission for the Hokage, so there shouldn't be too much danger involved."

Sakura was a little baffled at the secret smile that played across her mother's lips. "Is Hyuuga-san here?"

Neji, who must have been lingering in the stairwell, emerged into the kitchen and gave her mother a very correct greeting, which her mother returned cheerfully. Wondering why her mother was suddenly eyeing Neji like merchandise at a half-price sale, Sakura asked, "Is there anything you'd like from Earth country?"

It was an offer she wanted to withdrawal immediately, because a merchant's gleam appeared in her mother's dark eyes. "Do you know where you'll be staying?"

Exchanging a worried glance, Neji dutifully repeated the names of the inns. They finally managed to escape almost an hour later, reams of orders safely stored in her pouch. "I always thought it was an exaggeration when someone said their mother knew _everyone_," Neji remarked.

"Well, the Haruno are a well established merchant clan," Sakura replied prosaically, though it had unsettled her as well. She always tried not to think too hard about what she was giving up when she'd chosen to serve her village.

"You don't talk much about them," Neji said as they flashed their travel passes to the guard at the gates.

Sakura was silent for a moment. "I don't really know them very well, except for Grandfather."

"What's he like?"

For a partner who was usually silent, Sakura knew he must be worried about her to keep this conversation going. "He's like a daimyo," she decided at last.

Neji made a sound of interest and she explained. "He was born knowing he would eventually rule over this wealthy clan that has trading interests all over the world. So he's arrogant and ostentatious. A little cruel. And when it comes to money, totally ruthless."

"He doesn't sound…pleasant."

Sakura shrugged. "Mother adores him. My honored Father was made heir, so I suppose he approved of that choice, but when I…." her voice trailed off. "I don't want to talk about it."

And because this was Neji, they didn't. "How do you suppose we're supposed to know which is the _best_ drink on the menu?" he asked instead. "Her instructions are rather…unspecific."

"Knowing shishou, this is probably some sort of hidden test. Like 'has serving a lush all these years improved your taste in sake'? Or it's the best excuse a shinobi ever had to be falling down drunk all across enemy territory."

Neji didn't look thrilled at the prospect.

Of course, it wasn't as easy as boozing their way across Iwa, which sounded a little too much like Tsunade-shishou's dream mission for comfort, but information peddling didn't take long and no one usually died. For a shinobi of Sakura or Neji's caliber, it was a paid vacation.

They traveled quickly, but it wasn't driven or rushed. And the poison was slowly purged by quiet nights under a vast sky, warm baths with the gentle company of strangers, and sleep with the even breathing of Neji and the sound of rain on a tile roof as a lullaby.

The first night, she was reminded of her first mission with Neji, almost three years ago now, when they'd delivered a scroll to a man named Kioshi Takumi. The nostalgia had pursued her even through an early morning bath. When she'd returned to their shared room—they were traveling as Takahashi Neji and Sakura, being sent on a wedding journey by their fairly prosperous clan—she'd settled in to combing hair far longer than the her of that time had ever thought to allow herself again.

Neji, who had decided for once to sleep in, had been reading when she'd returned, but after a moment he crossed the room and settled behind her. "Let me," he offered.

Surrendering her comb, Sakura allowed herself to enjoy his firm, even strokes. Having her hair brushed for her was something no one had done since her mother had stopped arranging her hair and it was a simple, tactile pleasure that she hadn't until that moment realized how much she'd missed it. Ino didn't so much brush her hair as wage lightning war against it until it was styled to her satisfaction, but Neji wasn't trying to hurry her out the door on an outing.

She was surprised when he began parting out her hair in her usual style, but she was well and truly startled when he pulled the back section up and left it in a loose loop. Sakura felt the tugging sensation of something being slid into her hair and when his hand left, she could still feel a slight weight. When she turned her head to inquire, the metallic ringing of tiny bells made her shake her head gently.

"Wha…" Quick fingers explored, but she wasn't satisfied with that, so she dug into her back, pulling out a small hand mirror. She watched as her expression brightened, watched the bright-eyed girl she almost didn't recognize as herself admire the graceful accessory.

"It might not be useful on missions, but I thought you might enjoy it anyway." Neji's voice was more reserved than usual and Sakura realized he was a little nervous about the gift. Usually Neji's gifts were elegantly practical—special kunai, paper for explosive tags, once a puzzling obijime that turned out to have thin wire braided into the silk cord, making it nigh unbreakable. She still wore it.

But this was different and for that reason, she didn't even try to tamp down her delighted expression. "You're going to get conceited if I keep having to thank you," she teased and he relaxed. "So, do you think if I was to wear it on missions, it might give the enemy a fighting chance?"

Neji smiled in return. "I wonder. Though if you step through any more rotting logs, the only thing you could do to improve on that is a blazing neon sign."

Sakura mock-scowled. "Once. I fall through a rotting log once and you won't let me forget it for the rest of my career."

"You'd already made _jounin_. You deserve to never forget it."

"Oh? Really Mr. High-and-Mighty Hyuuga? Shall we revisit what you've done as a jounin?" Her expression turned smug as his pearlescent eyes narrowed and the ridges of his ears burned. "I thought not."

She gave him a moment's peace, then, "My personal favorite was when…."

-X-X-X-

When she returned to Konohagakure, she felt more like Sakura and less like whatever you might call the conglomerate of minds that she was slowly breaking into. The bells of the hairpin Neji had given her jingled a careless tune as she slipped in the window of Sasuke's hospital room.

She found herself to not be his only visitor. Kakashi and Naruto were already there and Sasuke was awake. And glaring at her. "Sorry if I'm a little late. I thought he'd be in T&I," she remarked flippantly.

"Sakura," Sasuke rumbled.

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten your name either, Sasuke."

"That must have been a very _interesting _mission for you to be this cheerful, Sakura," Kakashi observed. "Just what did you and Neji get up to?" His smile radiated smug satisfaction from behind his mask. "I knew you would eventually take my advice about reading _Icha Icha_. What did he think?"

"Give me a little credit, Kakashi-sensei. If I was going to jump Hyuuga Neji's bones, I wouldn't do it as per the enlightened instruction of Jiriaya-sama. Maybe the _Jin Ping Mei_ or Hokusei…"

Naruto blanched and Sakura had to resist the temptation to march over and slap him upside the head for catching the references immediately.

"So, what's been decided about the fate of our _favorite_ Uchiha?" The emphasis was deeply ironic.

"Well, while you gallivanting about outside the country, Tsunade decided that you'd more or less assured that Sasuke here wasn't much of a flight risk. The elders are still arguing about the rest."

Sakura met Sasuke's angry dark eyes boldly. "So, Sasuke. What's your plan now?" She noted that the bed had reinforced rails and that he had been cuffed to them, seals on his exposed skin told her his chakra had been sealed. Tsunade-shishou was taking no chances.

The glaring continued. "Look at this as an opportunity," Sakura advised archly. "You were almost finished with Orochimaru to begin with, weren't you? Now you don't have to go through the bother of killing your mentor. I assume that is what you were thinking? Or not thinking."

"Hn," which was neither affirmation nor a negative.

"I'm serious, Sasuke," Sakura said. "When the order comes down to execute you, I don't want to have to bow my head and say yes."

"But you would," Sasuke challenged.

Sakura could feel the deadly blankness she wore as easily as a mask trying to steal over her face, but she left herself open to those judgmental eyes. "Yes."

"Sakura!"

"I'm not going to lie to him, Naruto," she said without looking at the other boy.

"Hey now," Kakashi chided them both, "we're trying to make it so it doesn't come to that." This time his smile was threatening and meant for Sasuke. "So you really should cooperate."

-X-X-X-

"Danzo-sama wants to see you."

Sakura glanced over at her masked summoner. If he was pronouncing her death sentence, he probably would have done so in those same tones, like he was a student called upon to recite a boring passage from a textbook.

"I see."

She hadn't expected to go without punishment for bringing Uchiha Sasuke back to the village alive, after all. Her two weeks had only delayed the inevitable.

A/N: To circumvent the need for Wikipedia: The Jin Ping Mei was an ancient Chinese novel that has been considered pornography more or less since it was written and Hokusei was a famous artist of shunga, or pornographic woodblocks. Would Sakura be interested in these things? I figure she likely encountered them as part of her kunoichi training and does not pursue eroticism as an art form like Kakashi, but the real thing you should take away from the situation was she was generally comparing more "classic" examples to Kakashi's contemporary novels.


	21. L'Homme sans Merci

Disclaimer: This is beginning to feel tediously redundant.

A/N: This chapter is the reason why I gave you fluff beforehand. Be warned.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-one-

L'Homme sans Merci

Another wide, windowless room. This one had a tiled floor the color of terra cotta and walls that had the look of being painted over too often. The only furniture in the room was a single dark chest shoved into one corner. Danzou stood with his back to her, hands crossed behind him.

Two members of Root, anonymous behind their masks, stood on either side of the door. That didn't worry her, but the further eight members, two full squads, standing at attention, did. Whatever punishment he was going to offer, he wanted to make it as public as he could, short of having it done in the marketplace. Sakura guessed she was going to be made an _example_ of.

"You wanted to see me, Danzou-sama?" Sakura inquired.

"You disobeyed my instructions concerning the Uchiha."

Sakura did not protest this, despite knowing that she had technically followed Danzou's orders to her to the very letter. She knew what she had been called here for and insubordination would only make it worse. It also might tempt Danzou into giving her orders she wasn't ready to follow.

"I had high hopes for you. But you came to me very late, so I suppose it is not all your fault. Sarutobi's coddling has spoiled this generation."

Sakura remained silent. Danzou glanced over his shoulder at her. "Strip," he ordered.

Sakura froze, glancing neither to the left or the right at her audience. She was not one of those people who did casual nudity. The tips of her ears burned, but she did as Danzou asked. Shame and humiliation, not for her body, because she'd come to terms with that, but for being forced to do this, tried to emerge as a hot blush, but she forced it down. Because she _knew_ that this was also a part of torture. Pain wasn't the only way to break people.

Her hands trembled slightly as she undid the rope around her waist, letting it tumble to the floor. Her pouches were stripped more efficiently and placed on the ground more gently. Long fingers hesitated at the ties to her top, but she shed it, then her boots, and finally her hakama pants. When she was left in only her underwear and chest binding, she parted her hair forward, almost angrily, letting it fall over her breasts so they were at least partially covered as she removed the bandages.

Striding forward, Sakura knelt in the center of the room. Danzou turned to her then, but there was no lust or much human emotion at all in his single visible eye. "Down," he commanded the Root officers who had followed her softly softly. They took hold of her arms by the wrist, wrenching her down until she was flat against the floor. Like human manacles, they pulled her arms taught, holding her in place.

Danzou walked slowly over to the chest. Sakura closed her eyes, hearing the gentle caress of his fingers against the worn wood, then the soft creak of the lid being opened. And then a skittering sound, the sound of glass against the tile.

_They make you lie on the floor so you cannot go with the motion of the lash and so escape the full brunt of it. _Sakura pulled herself into her center, dangerously close to slipping into the Kingdoms, but she didn't dare. The whisper of the scourge made nerves still untouched tingle with a dreadful anticipation.

Danzou used many brutal methods to control his Root, but most were more subtle than this. But Sakura's analytical mind understood why he used it. With the surety of a ninja who'd trained since she was very young, Sakura knew when the cords, with their glass embedded to rip and tear, were about to strike. Hot fire bloomed across her back and she hissed in a breath that was stolen as the pain registered.

"One," she said. It was important to keep count. Dreadfully important, because if she missed one, Danzou would begin the count over.

"Up to thirty," Danzou informed her. Over forty and she might die from shock alone.

There was less sound to a scourge properly wielded than the movies made out. No snap of leather against itself, because then it was not digging shallow furrows across her back.

_ If you break, then you were never strong, _Madara's will resounded through her.

The hiss and whistle of leather against air, then the tearing sensation of the tender skin of her back, slicing open the well-developed muscle.

"Two."

For a shinobi, the worst knowledge was that she was willingly submitting to this punishment. At any time, she could struggle. It was only hands that held her in place. She could cry or scream or beg, but Sakura did none of these. She simply counted, making the words short and sharp, so she wouldn't bite her tongue when the lash came down again. This was not simply punishment, it was also a test. _Loyalty_ to Danzou had all the implications of signing over your soul. So Sakura retreated into her analytical mind until she reached ten. And then she did not think at all.

"Thirty," was more spittle and grimace than word, but Danzou accepted it.

The room was almost silent. Her breathing was shallow and quick, and hot runnels of saline dripped from her eyes. Sakura wasn't crying. It was the involuntary reaction of her body to the abuse she'd put it through. Though it was disguised by the candyfloss hair that now clung to her face, she would never admit even in her own head to crying in Danzou's presence.

"You did well in destroying the base and killing the traitor Kabuto." Something dropped onto the floor next to her head with a clatter and she turned weary eyes until she could see the white rim of a porcelain mask. "Haruno Sakura, you've been promoted to ANBU. Congratulations. By order of the Hokage, you are currently on standby, as she has not yet assigned you a team. Until she does, you will continue to carry out her orders as usual."

"Yes…Danzou-sama," Sakura breathed.

She heard the small sounds of ninja leaving and the room emptied, until only she lay on the floor. Bleeding, but too tired to move, Sakura tried very hard not to think of what her back must look like. Someone would have to clean it, as she could feel fragments of glass still remained. With a grudging effort, Sakura started to run names through her mind, trying to decide whose house she could crawl to and still expect some degree of silence.

Not Ino or Naruto, that was for sure. Circumspect wasn't a word in their vocabulary. Neji lived in the Hyuuga compound and in her condition, the chance she could avoid being noticed by the clan members was actually in the negative numbers.

_It occurs to me now that I don't have that many friends, _Sakura thought wryly. Oh, she certainly socialized with other of the Konoha Eleven, but there was a fine line between meeting up at a restaurant once a month and bleeding on their couch.

The pain hadn't damaged her hearing, so she was aware when the doors opened and someone stepped in. "Did you…need something?" she asked in the politest voice possible considering the circumstances.

"Dickless could learn a thing or two about balls from you, hag," a familiar voice observed.

Sakura's arm trembled, but she managed to wedge it under her body so she could half-turn and look at Sai. "Thanks…for the compliment." She waited a moment, but the strain was too much to hold the position, so she lay back out on the tile, feeling the jade beads that decorated her bands pressing into the soft tissue of her breasts. "Need something?"

"Danzou-sama was upset at my failure."

"I…imagine so."

Sai sank down on his heels, picking up her mask idly, then placing it carefully back on the floor.

Sakura sighed. "Help or go away, Sai."

Sai rose and for a moment Sakura thought he was going to leave, but instead she could hear the sounds of her equipment being moved. Bundling it all together, he helped her gingerly sit up and she clutched her clothes to her bare front. Sai raised an uncomplimentary brow. "You don't have much to hide, hag." But he still slid her outer red jacket with the Haruno clan symbols over her shoulders.

As he gathered her up in an economical movement, Sakura suppressed what would have surely emerged as a whimper. "What's up with the endearing nickname?"

"I read in a book, that it was sociable to give your friends nicknames."

"True," Sakura winced as Sai had to shift her to open the door. "Then if I call you Sai-chan, you won't complain?"

He didn't answer, because as soon as he closed the door, they were off. Sakura closed her eyes and tried to control her urge to vomit. Between the pain in her back and the rocking movement of being cradled in her teammate's arms, she felt like it was a particularly bad day at sea. She also sent a quick prayer to kami-sama that no one would see her in her state of undress, but Sai was quick and kept to back ways.

The room he took her to must have been his. If there had ever been wallpaper, it was obscured by sketch upon sketch, layered like a geological formation. Perhaps if she had time and strength, she could have gone through them, watching the development of the shinobi called Sai.

The embarrassment returned when he lowered her into the narrow tub, divesting her of her shielding garments. Never had she been so grateful that her hair was long again. But Sai handled her body as objectively as a sculptor might a work of art as he eased the glass shard out of her back, rinsing out the cuts with warm, sudsy water. "These will scar," he told her without a hint of pity or sympathy.

With luck and care, it would only be cosmetic. Danzou wanted to punish her, but crippling an able weapon was a fool's move. If it looked like more, she would go to Tsunade and damn the consequences, because Sakura would _not_ let herself be rendered useless again.

Sakura hissed as Sai used some sort of disinfectant, but otherwise she kept the silence between them. "I was surprised that you worked for Danzou-sama," Sai said at last as he retrieved a field kit. Taking from it a curved needle and a packet of sterilized thread, Sakura tried to ignore the tug and pinch as he sewed the worst of them closed. Any ANBU could perform field surgery of that level, so she wasn't too worried about his technique, but it didn't mean she had to appreciate the need to have the stitches.

"Hm," Sakura replied noncommittally.

"Dickless doesn't know," Sai observed.

"No," Sakura acknowledged.

"Why?"

"Can't you figure even that out, Sai-chan?" Bitterness edged her voice. "Because there are some things that Naruto understands in a way that you don't, like bonds that should never be broken. But there are things that Naruto doesn't understand, either."

"And you understand them all?" His voice wasn't mocking. Sai sounded genuinely curious and Sakura sighed internally. In many ways, Root members were like children. Their training made them incredible weapons, but it also made them vulnerable in the strangest ways.

"I don't understand much of anything. All I know is that…," she took a moment to arrange her thoughts into words, "this world we see, it isn't the same world that you see, or Sasuke sees, or Naruto sees. What world is real? What world is false? What is reality? What is untruth? In the end, we can only follow what we think is right, only to find ourselves fighting against someone equally as convinced their cause is equally as justified."

"You do not believe in good and evil?" Sai asked, taping gauze over his careful stitches.

_Good and evil_. It seemed so easy to say that. "If you ask me if I think that what Sasuke did was wrong, I'll tell you without hesitation that it was. But, perhaps, to Sasuke, that was his only path."

"Then what will you do?" He now handed her chest bindings, scavenged from the pile of her clothes. It was uncomfortable, but with Sai's help, she managed to get the wrappings tight.

She kicked him out so she could shed the underwear that had gotten soaked as Sai washed the wounds. Dressing stiffly, she left her kimono top on the outside of her hakama, tying the cord only loosely. Her various holsters and pouches were replaced with the ease of long practice and she slid the sword she had no intentions at present of returning to Sasuke through the loops that held it horizontal across her lower back. It was almost too long for that kind of carry, but she left it.

As she exited the bathroom, she gave him her answer. "I don't know. But if it means crushing his dream to see mine achieved," and she met Sai's questioning gaze with eyes as hard and resolute as if her eyes were jade in truth, "then I will. In the gentlest way possible, of course. Thanks for the help."

"What is your dream, hag?"

Sakura only smirked as she limped through the door.

-X-X-X-

"The council has come to the decision that Uchiha Sasuke will be released into the custody of Team Kakashi," Tsunade informed them wearily. Kakashi glanced up from his novel to gauge the reactions of his former students, now his kohai.

Sai, his newest and probably least adorable underling, remained stoic, but Kakashi watched as his dark eyes glanced not to Naruto, who was literally leaping for joy, but to Sakura. The only kunoichi of his team stood rather stiffly, hip cocked and one hand resting on the enameled hilt of a sword he was told had belonged to Sasuke. Her lips were smiling, but her eyes were frowning.

Kakashi sidled closer. "Not looking forward to looking after him?" he murmured, allowing his eyes to drift down to the pages of _Icha Icha_, as if he wasn't really paying much attention.

"It's a trap," she said, her lips barely moving as she formed the words.

"Oh?"

"If he tries to escape, this time there won't be an excuse for not sending out the hunter-nin. Sasuke will be dead before he ever makes the border."

It was not that Sakura had said it, so much as the way she said it that worried Kakashi. He had seen, over the years, the blooming of her analytical mind, and he knew she spent more time when she was in the village at Tsunade's—and by proxy, the council's—side than was healthy for a shinobi who wanted to stay out of village politics, so that she saw through the trap was no surprise. It was the grim resignation in her voice, as if she had already seen the execution order and was only waiting for an auspicious date.

"I wouldn't worry," he told her with an eye-crinkling grin, "you can always just break his legs again."

Sakura's look was definitely not amused, but it made Kakashi chuckle. "Or maybe we can find less violent ways to convince him to stay. Naruto certainly looks ready to try."

They both looked on their companion, who was now occupied in some inane victory dance as Tsunade yelled at him to get out of her office.

Sakura snorted. "Naruto could convert a rock, but I don't know if he'll get through to Sasuke."

"Are you implying that your precious teammate is dumber than a rock?" Kakashi teased, though he had the same reservations. The young man who had come back was not the boy who had left them. The boy Kakashi had believed in. This one, though, he was a young snake with fangs of lightning he himself had passed on.

"Sasuke is in a class all of his own."

"Well, if we're supposed to be watching him, I suppose this means we need to go collect him from the hospital," Kakashi sighed.

This time, Sakura snickered. "What, you're saying we can't just send a note and expect him to hobble over by himself? Where is he staying, anyway?"

Kakashi glanced at her and she scowled. "Not me. I live with my parents."

"You expect me to condemn him to the Graveyard of Ramen Cups?"

"Fitting punishment," Sakura pronounced. "Unless you want him to live with you. Where do you live anyhow, Kakashi-sempai?"

"Finally got the suffix right, I see," he said, avoiding the question of his residence. If Sakura knew, that might be fine, but if she told Naruto….

"Well, things change." The look in her eyes was distant, even as he steered her out the door by her shoulders before Tsunade started throwing things.

As soon as his hands descended on her back, she'd flinched, which made him ease up. She'd probably injured herself training. For all that she'd nagged them about staying in the hospital properly, she seemed to avoid it with the same passion. But she was old enough now he didn't scold her for it, letting her slip deftly out of his hands without making it too obvious that the gentle pressure had hurt.

Naruto was chuckling, hands laced behind his head as he led them down the corridor, Sai drifting behind like a duckling that had been separated from its mother.

Sasuke was sitting up in his hospital bed when they got there, staring blankly out the window. Kakashi wondered if he was the only one with an eerie sense of déjà vu, but from the way Sakura hesitated in the threshold, he could tell she felt it as well.

Sasuke's eyes flicked towards them, lingering on the chokuto sheathed behind Sakura's back. "You going to carry that around like a war trophy?"

"That's what it is," Sakura said, "When you're ready to use it for something other than destruction, I'll think about giving it back."

"It's a _sword_," Sasuke sneered. "It was made to kill things."

Pink brows rose, but Kakashi intervened. He clapped his hands together once, chiding, "Children, children. Sakura, no need to antagonize Sasuke. Sasuke, the council came to a decision."

A blank mask descended over his former student's face as he looked at him. Sasuke didn't even ask, just sat silently. Internally, Kakashi sighed. There would be a long ahead for all of them. He'd expected Sasuke to be hostile, but Sakura's venom was something of a surprise. He almost hadn't believed Yamato's report when he read it. Not that Sakura had won, because her victory against Sasori had prepared him for that, but _how_ she had won.

That was not how a teammate retrieved a companion that they loved despite themselves. That was how a warlord treated an opponent they barely viewed as human. When, despite having _already _won, they needed to crush down all the harder so their enemy couldn't rise up again. It wasn't something he expected of Sakura, who'd been petty in the past but never actively malicious. This wasn't the carelessness of a little girl, this was something new and a little unsettling.

Yamato had described her actions as "deliberate" and "cold," but his own battle with Orochimaru meant the information he could provide was limited.

Kakashi frowned behind his mask. Sakura had always been dependable, in her own way, long before she'd acquired physical strength. She'd been the spring that separated Naruto's summer and Sasuke's winter, seasons that were basically incompatible. In that metaphor, he was autumn, so perhaps it was no wonder that he had always been the most distant from her, but Kakashi wasn't blind.

…or at least, he hadn't thought he was. But that kind of emotional control wasn't exactly a trademark of any of her teachers. Unless…and he glanced over at Sakura, who was standing stiffly in near the wall but quite deliberately not leaning against it, she'd found a teacher he didn't know about.

Ignoring the mystery for the moment, Kakashi spoke to Sasuke. "The council has decided that you will be released into our custody. Your chakra will remain sealed and if you are found in possession of weapons, we are to immediately turn you over to the T&I department. For the moment, you'll be living with Naruto."

Sasuke's face darkened, but again he didn't protest.

"If we are assigned missions during your probation, we can seek the approval of the Hokage for you to accompany us, but if you attempt to escape, you will not be allowed outside the walls of this village until the elder council decides that you are trustworthy."

"It'll be almost like old times," Naruto chimed in, grinning broadly, but then he thrust his thumb in the direction of Sai. "Except it'll be this bastard fighting with us. Are you sure we still need him, Kakashi-sensei?"

"You're still technically a gennin, Naruto," Kakashi reminded him. "Unless you want to go no higher than C-ranks, we need a four-man squad."

"Besides, Sai-chan is cute," Sakura teased.

While Naruto scowled at her, Sai replied, "Thanks, hag."

The insult, which she once would have pummeled him into the ground over, rolled off Sakura like water from an oiled coat. "What the hell about him is cute?" Naruto demanded.

"Focus, guys," Kakashi said hurriedly before it developed into a full-blown tangeant.

But he still caught sight of Sakura mouthing the words "adorably awkward" to Naruto. Running a hand through his silvered hair, Kakashi shook his head at their tomfoolery.

-X-X-X-

Madara didn't talk as much as Orochimaru, she discovered after several days. Sakura was accustomed to having a constant commentary in her head and the silence was strange. Not totally unwelcome, but Orochimaru was what she was used to.

What Madara did do was slide through her body like possession, strengthening her will, all but controlling her actions. But with Sasuke's eyes upon her, she was careful to use only her five-style taijutsu and, just because she knew it would anger him, his sword.

It was a good blade, she admitted as she slashed through an ink-hound, ducking under another so she could impale it from below. Not a good technique for humans, as it would trap her sword for precious seconds, but Sai's creatures had the fortuitous characteristic of dissolving into nothingness once they were "slain."

_But do we really need to let him watch us practice? _Sakura demanded furiously, knowing there would be no answer from Madara, who didn't even acknowledge unnecessary questions.

To her surprise, he did answer, dark voice reverberating underneath her skin. _If you treat a man as an enemy, then he will remain an enemy. It is better to treat him as a friend and kill him in his bed if he betrays you._

Sakura sighed, straightening as Sai's onslaught eased. Sai's technique was convenient in training situations, in the same way that Naruto's was. There was always the faint danger of going too far in sparring, leaving your partner dead, but both their techniques virtually assured that they would walk away. Neji, with his impenetrable defense, and Gai and Kakashi both with their nearly inhuman skills gave her the same feeling.

"Call it a draw, hag?" Sai offered, since they'd been at this almost two hours already and her back felt like someone had flayed it with leather and glass shards.

At least the wounds had stopped pulling open. She might not be able to use her chakra to heal anyone else, but she was half-decent at promoting her own regeneration. "Deal," Sakura replied, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. Sliding her blade back into its sheath without needing to look was the benefit of all the training time she'd been putting in for the last few days. It had been a long time since she'd gone this long between missions, although technically her trip was Neji had been a mission.

Honestly, it was almost making her uneasy. There had been a point in her life when she thought she would never grow accustomed to the vigilance and violence, but now it was the slow-paced life within Konoha that made her restless. And with Sasuke here, she almost wished that Danzou would send for her. Following orders, fighting, that was all easy. Living was what was hard.

Mind made up, Sakura strode over to where Sasuke was leaning against a tree, one knee drawn up, and settled easily in front of him. She didn't say a word, just sat there, legs half tucked under her, weight shifted onto her right hand.

She knew it was possible Sasuke would sit there and not say a word, but for the moment this was the only gesture of peace she could make. Which is why she almost stabbed Sai with a kunai as he settled opposite her, looking out onto the training field, his back brushing hers intermittently.

Allowing herself to relax into Sai's lean back, Sakura tilted her head back and whispered, "What did you read now?"

"Skinship is necessary to humans for healthy social interactions and normal development." She could feel the movements of his hand as the muscles in his back flexed, so she knew he was sketching now.

"Mm," Sakura murmured, "but usually there's some level of comfort between two people before you almost sit down on top of them."

"I have seen you naked already. What is there to be uncomfortable about?"

Sakura saw Sasuke's eyes widen in her peripheral vision. "Sai-chan…," she half-turned and thumped him on the back of the head with her open palm.

"Ouch. What was that for, hag?"

"Just because I think you're adorable doesn't mean everyone will. In the future, if you see a girl in a state of undress, you better ask first about how she feels about everyone and their brother knowing you've seen her naked."

Sai rubbed his head. "The only one here is the Uchiha," he pointed out.

"You think Uchihas don't gossip? If Ino hears about this, I'll never hear the end of it."

Sasuke snorted. Sakura slowly turned back to look at the boy she had once loved with all the ardent infatuation and obsession of a little girl whose mind was already shattered into pieces. His face was less rounded now, his hair grown long enough to brush his collarbones. Collarbones exposed by the open white shirt that he wore, which was a stark contrast to the dark, high-collared shirts that he'd always sported in their youth.

"So, I see you tried to replace me in more ways than one."

Sakura smiled slowly at him, a hard smile. "Well, what do you expect, when you leave a girl like that? That I'd wait patiently for you to come and sweep me off my feet? Grow up, Sasuke. Maybe you've forgotten while you were trying to break those bonds of yours, but I was already in love with something else before you ever left."

"Konohagakure, right?" he said ironically, but Sakura was so surprised he remembered that she dismissed his tone.

"Mm."

"You've improved," Sasuke said grudgingly. "Your technique."

Sakura politely ignored the unintentional double entendre, thinking she really needed to stop hanging out with Kakashi-sempai. "I worked hard. Did you…learn a lot from Orochimaru?" _Because I learned many, many things from mine. _

Sai had gone back to sketching, seemingly ignoring them both, but Sakura had her suspicions that at least part of their conversation would be reported back to Danzou.

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"Orochimaru…was once a member of Akatsuki, wasn't he?"

"Why are you asking?" Sasuke asked warily.

"Curious. Just curious." Curious about how all the pieces of that particular puzzle fit together. If each member of the Akatsuki wore a ring, each on a different finger, that would signify that there should be ten members in total. But there were only nine listed in any country's bingo book. If, when Orochimaru had defected from them, he had taken his ring with him and they'd never been able to replace him, then that would mean the rings were more than simple fashion accessory.

"Yes."

But even if she knew the ring was somehow important, how could that be used to her advantage? Sasori and his blonde partner had been sent after the ichibi, weakest of all the tailed beast, which to her signified they were likely the weakest pair within Akatsuki. And if Itachi and his finny friend hunted Naruto, they would be the strongest.

"He was Sasori of the Red Sands partner?" she pressed.

Sasuke's expression was now rather bemused, brows drawn together. "Yes."

"Then he was always weaker than Itachi," Sakura pronounced, disappearing into the treetops as Sasuke's eyes widened.

"What do you mean by that?" he roared as he struggled to his feet, almost collapsing when he put weight on his broken leg.

"You could have had ten Orochimaru teach you for ten years and you would still be a hundred years too early to defeat your brother, Sasuke," Sakura declaimed calmly, feeling the truth in her own words.

"You're wrong," Sasuke snarled.

"Itachi has the Mangekyou Sharingan. It's better than your eyes, Sasuke. If Orochimaru was so powerful, why didn't he take his body?" Especially from a younger Itachi, who would have had less battle experience than the legendary Sannin. But then, his eyes also would have fresh from their forge fire of blood and despair, not burnt and damaged.

Sasuke had no answer for her, but his anger radiated toward her in a deadly, crackling wave of killing intent. Sakura brushed it off like an irritating fly. Orochimaru or Madara were frightening, Danzou terrifying, but she'd already broken Sasuke once. Even if he killed her when he recovered, Sakura would never be able to really fear him again.

"Stay here, Sasuke. You can do anything your brother could, can't you?" she asked with exasperation. "Konohagakure…" had its own secrets, she finished silently. There was something more than strange about the Uchiha massacre. And that coded file she'd discovered in the Root archives, what did it mean? She'd only managed to break two of the ciphers, but the full report was written in at least five. Even when the ciphers were broken, most of the report referred to the participants in the incident by code names.

Weasel had been easy enough to identify when she'd been told by Hiashi that it had been Itachi who had murdered his family, but if it was a case of a promising young ANBU captain gone mad, why would there be a report filed in Root? And she'd broken into the medical files (which had mostly been a matter of slipping on a white jacket and doing a great deal of scowling), but none of Itachi's psychological profiles showed instability.

Neither did hers, for that matter, and she knew she was crazy, but Konoha had always been very careful when it came to the Uchiha clan, especially as many of them would eventually join the police force.

Actually, it wasn't precisely true that none of her psychological reviews showed instability. Before she'd gone well and truly crazy, with Orochimaru taking up residence in a vast and complex mindscape, her reports always showed some doubt as to her suitability as a kunoichi. "Borderline neurotic," was how one psychologist had reported her obsession with Sasuke.

There had been one very strange report she'd never seen before her break-in whose author asserted that Sakura had no behavior patterns of her own, instead only aping the powerful female figures around her.

But for now she dismissed all that. "Just give us another chance, Sasuke. Kakashi might not be a creepy-ass Sannin, but he's copied over a thousand jutsus and his name is in every bingo book. Naruto is the number one unpredictable ninja in Konohagakure, who, one day, will become Hokage. We can give you a better way to be strong. The way you're going now, what happens to you after you defeat Itachi? Once upon a time, a boy told me he didn't have a dream. He had a goal he was going to make reality. And part of that goal was to restore his clan. How do you intend to do that, if you don't have anywhere to go back to?"

-X-X-X-

She had already disappeared before Sasuke whispered, "And what are you, Sakura?"

He was surprised when the dark-haired nin, who he'd already decided he despised, answered. "She's an A-class kunoichi," the young man said idly, never looking up from his sketchpad.

"Hn."

"You might want to consider why she did not offer herself in her ploy, unless you truly wish to sever your bond with her."

"You mean that her so-called 'bond' is with you now?" Sasuke sneered. It would follow that Sakura might fall for the physical resemblance between him and his replacement, but for someone who had once liked him, it seemed to show poor taste to go after someone as socially ignorant as his replacement seemed to be.

"She might have taken you from your master, but that does not mean she has freed herself from hers."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, wishing the seals would allow him enough chakra to use Sharingan. "Why should I care about her serving the Hokage?"

"Tsunade-sama is not the master I was talking about."

Before Sasuke had a chance to demand a clearer answer, Kakashi and Naruto arrived from their own sparring session. But Sakura, much as he hated to admit it, had given him things he needed to mull over. His former plans in tatters, he needed to decide where he would go from here.

It was obvious that he had miscalculated about how much his former teammates would be able to improve. Even now he couldn't really believe that Sakura had been able—no, it wasn't even that, that'd she'd been _willing_ to beat him. During their entire battle, not once had he felt even a flash of killing intent. There'd been a complete absence of hostility and yet…

His fingers absently traveled across the rib cage she'd nearly collapsed with a single punch and then to the leg she'd very purposely crushed. When he'd asked about the poison, the remnants of which Tsunade had treated, the woman's face had gone dark. "It's none of your business, Uchiha. Just be glad she didn't kill you with it."

There was something about that whole situation that seemed off, but Sasuke's personal knowledge of poisons was rather limited.

In fact, if he thought about it, his knowledge of this Sakura was rather limited. Neither Kakashi nor Naruto seemed to treat her any differently than they had before, but he would swear that the Sakura he had faced in that battle was a Sakura he had never seen before. When he'd first seen her again, the first thing he'd noticed was her hair—that ridiculous hair, which she'd grown out again.

She'd been all dolled up, too, with more hair accessories in than he'd ever seen her wear, not to mention the flowing sleeves of her kimono top. When he'd left, she'd been determinedly shunning any hint of her femininity, wearing clothes that emphasize her spare, boyish lines. So was he completely off base to assume she'd slid back into old patterns?

But that hadn't been the case. "Naruto," he demanded suddenly, as they were walking back to the dobe's apartment, "who did Sakura study under while I was gone?"

Naruto looked thoughtful. "Well, Tsunade-baa-san and Kakashi, I guess. But she went on most of her missions with Neji. Why?"

"The Hyuuga?" From what he remembered of that proud son of the only clan who could really rival the Uchiha, he hadn't been one to accept any kind of weakness.

"Yeah. They became jounin together. Unfair, isn't it? I mean, I could take Neji, no problem, but apparently rules are rules, so I have to wait for the next chunnin exam," Naruto grumbled. "Tsunade-baa-chan said it was too late to make arrangements to put me on a team for this one."

He brightened a moment later. "But at least you're still a genin, too."

For a brief moment, Sasuke smirked, because it wasn't like he couldn't see the irony. But he quickly wiped the expression away. "So, Sakura's jounin?"

"Yep. Weird, isn't it? But I always knew Sakura-chan was awesome!" Naruto declared staunchly. Then he scratched his head in that gesture that Sasuke knew meant he was leading up to a question. "Sasuke, did you …say something to Sakura?"

"When, dobe?"

"When we were at the base."

"No."

"Because I think," and he hesitated visibly, not only because they were now standing outside the door to his apartment, "that she might have gotten the poison she used on you from Sasori."

Sasuke only knew of one Sasori and his eyes widened. "What?"

Naruto shrugged unhappily, even as he dug in his pocket for his keys. "Sakura was…a little strange after that battle too. That's how we knew where to find you."

"Sasori is a member of the Akatsuki. He wouldn't have simply told her."

"Yeah, well, now he's a dead member of the Akatsuki. If you could have called him alive to start with. Puppets are freaky," he observed as he shoved the door open and went into his humble rooms.

"Sakura killed him?" Sasuke asked carefully.

"She and Chiyo-baa-chan. An elder from Suna," Naruto clarified when Sasuke gave him an inquiring look.

_Sakura…just what have you been doing all this time? _

A/N: Now, new question. I'm curious: what kind of animal do you think will be represented on Sakura's ANBU mask? Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, as the next update will likely be slower in coming.


	22. Reaching for Daylight

Disclaimer: Are you even still reading this? Seriously, no variation. Copyright still rests firmly in someone else's hands.

A/N: Alright, it seems that I was misinformed. This chapter came together much more quickly than I anticipated. Much thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Seriously, everyone has been really amazing. The feedback about her mask has been really interesting. I will try not to disappoint, but I am rather nervous about this chapter. I don't think this idea has ever been tried this way before, but I won't claim that it's completely novel. Now I can really tell I'm nervous, because I'm even blathering on about nothing in the author's notes.

Five Kingdoms of the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-Two-

Reaching for Daylight

Sakura was having a very, very surreal dream. There was the proverbial picnic blanket on the ground, checkered red and white, but there were no ants crawling across it on pilgrimages to Mount Daifuku. That was not the surreal part.

Surreal was her companions. To her right, Uchiha Madara, still fully equipped in his plated red armor, was studying a sheaf of paper with quiet intent. His pose was warrior-casual, one leg drawn up, elbow poised on it, fisted hand resting against his temple. Orochimaru lolled more indolently along the left side of the blanket, laying full out, propped on one elbow as pale fingers paged slowly through a very similar sheaf of papers.

"Why is Haku never here?" Sakura asked rhetorically.

Orochimaru, of course, had never known a rhetorical question he didn't like. "Despair is his Kingdom. You have not felt desolation in quite some time, Sakura-chan. That, and he's tedious."

"That's a little unfair, don't you think?" Another question occurred to her. "Orochimaru, where have _you_ been lately?"

Slitted golden eyes trailed sourly over to the newest addition to the mindscape. Who continued to ignore them both. "Uchiha-sama here is from the deepest Kingdom. He has forced me back to the Forest of Bone and won't allow me to speak to you."

"He can do that?"

Red eyes finally looked over to her. Sakura had never seen Madara's eyes without Sharingan. "The snake provokes confusion and uncertainty. He revels in chaos. He is useful, but only to an extent. We do, however, share a common vision."

Sakura shifted uncertainly. "Oh? And what's that?"

"Power. Where you hesitate, we will make certain to secure it."

Perhaps jade was not as intimidating as hell-touched red, but Sakura narrowed her eyes at him just the same. "Naruto _will_ be Hokage."

"Just the same," Madara answered easily.

Orochimaru looked even younger than usual, especially when compared to his counterpart in reality, when framed by the fawning grass and flowers in the Garden of Ruin. "Weasel is Uchiha Itachi, obviously. But who is this Monkey King that authorized the orders?"

Sakura gave a huff of dissatisfaction. "It would be easier if we could break the cipher to the order _themselves._"

Cryptography was really more Shikamaru's field. It wasn't that Sakura wasn't smart enough, by any means, but she would admit she lacked the level of talent that made Shikamaru a genius. _Sakura _certainly couldn't simultaneously consider the known codes from the area of origination alongside the possibility of a random-number substitution and emerge with a solution within hours.

But she could patiently work through the code, leaving the possibility that the cipher was based on some random-number equation for last. It was what she'd been doing as she fell asleep, scrolls splayed out before her on her covers. And that was how she found herself her, picnicking with her disassociated personalities while they attempted to see what Danzou had been hiding.

"The Sandaime. He summoned monkeys," Madara commented. Sakura scowled at him. It was still rather peculiar to know that both these people (they were far too unnervingly developed to call mere personalities when they were sitting right in front of her) had access to all her knowledge, even things she couldn't consciously remember.

Then the implications of what he'd said caught up to her. "Why would Danzou keep a record of an order issued by the Sandaime?" If it had been issued by the Hokage, there would be a record of it in the mission archives. Even ANBU missions were recorded in the classified vault.

"Unless the Sandaime was doing something he didn't want even his successors to know, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru laughed. "Imagine, that dried up old man, doing something this interesting!"

"We don't know what it was yet," Sakura maintained stubbornly.

"The order was given to Uchiha Itachi directly before he disappeared and it was necessary to gain the Hokage's approval for the mission. This is less a leap of faith and more a foregone conclusion," Madara told her. "The Uchiha massacre was a result of a shinobi following orders."

"But why? Why would he do such a thing?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "They were the Uchiha, Sakura-chan. They have a long and violent history of dissent. Perhaps they became such a risk that the Hokage decided to retire them from play, using one of their very own pieces. It's a clever move. You'll want to remember it for the future."

Sakura bit down on her lower lip, an unconsciously childlike gesture of frustration. "Even if," and her voice was hesitant, "even if the Sandaime gave the order," and that made almost a frightening amount of sense, because then this order would be invaluable to Danzou, if worst came to worst, because he could prove that though his machinations might have had much to do with it, it was Sarutobi-sama who had given the final word, "could Uchiha Itachi really have taken out an entire clan on his own?"

"He was a genius who hasn't been equaled since," Madara said thoughtfully, "but after a certain point, even genius must have its limits. For so many, in a single night, with so many awakened Sharingan, yet to have made so little noise that it didn't draw the attention of other shinobi…"

"He had collaborators, probably," Orochimaru said, reaching across the blanket to where a shallow bowl full of sugared strawberries waited.

"But who?"

"Perhaps Danzou's people. He could eliminate them easily enough, leaving Uchiha Itachi to be his stalking horse."

"They don't really matter," Orochimaru said as he plucked another of the fresh-smelling treats. "What matters, Sakura-chan, is what you're going to do now that you know Uchiha Itachi is innocent. Will your precious sense of justice stand for that?"

With the eyes of two of the greatest traitors to have ever emerged from her village on her, Sakura couldn't find a suitable reply to that. What could she do about it?

"All information is valuable," Madara said at last, "but sometimes you must wait for the opportunity to use it. To act too soon is to make yourself vulnerable, to act too late leads to defeat."

Staring into Madara's austere face, she could see the fragments of a much more delicate attractiveness that would emerge in his descendant. But the real difference between them was in the eyes. Madara had proud, focused eyes that burned with the strength of his conviction that might really could equate with right; Itachi's had been quietly, stoically exhausted.

Sakura frowned. The stress lines beneath Itachi's eyes had been etched deep before he had even graduated the Academy. She'd seen the pressure the clan exerted on Neji and he was only a branch member-how much worse would it be for the heir? It had almost crushed Hyuuga Hinata's spirit. If the girl had been any weaker, she might have crumpled completely under the heavy-handed discipline of her father, but she'd discovered her own strength and was almost as far from the girl she'd been in her first chunnin exam as Sakura herself was.

But Itachi, he had been almost the same age she was now when this order had come down. What would Sakura do if she was given a similar order?

"You'd kill them, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru supplied with a crafty smile, licking the strawberry juice from his fingers.

"No, I wouldn't," Sakura said softly. "I don't think I could."

"Oh, poor Sakura-chan. You still don't understand yourself, do you? If you discovered that your parents had been conspiring against your precious Konohagakure, what would you do?"

"Have them exiled," Sakura answered promptly. "Not killed. But...my family is civilian."

"So the two situations cannot be compared," Madara rumbled in his dark voice.

"No. And they're merchants. They'd never endanger a trading relationship with a village as prosperous as Konoha. That might anger the Daimyo and Fire is one of the wealthiest lands on the continent, thanks to the mild winters and the extended peace. Trade flourishes here. No," she said reflectively, "Konohagakure wouldn't have to do a thing. Grandfather would probably order the punishment of the clan member himself. And my honored father is the heir-he'd never make a mistake like that."

Sakura played with the blanket, slowly scrunching up the edge she was sitting next to. "What are you thinking, Sakura-chan?" Orochimaru asked.

"That I can't help but admire his conviction," Sakura whispered. "That level of absolute dedication."

"Not quite," Madara interjected.

"What do you mean?"

"He left a member of his clan alive, then encouraged him to kill him. Does that sound like conviction, or regret?"

Sakura stared blankly at Madara as the implications slowly clicked into place and the gears began to turn. "Regret," she breathed. "It sounds like repentance."

She had mixed feelings about regret herself. It was what made her human, but as a shinobi she could not afford to let it cloud her judgment. Orochimaru enjoyed regret, as he enjoyed almost anything that could cause her to falter. He had a connoisseur's appreciation for what could plunge her back into the Kingdoms.

Madara, however, had no use for regret and Sakura had her sincere doubts it was an emotion he had ever allowed himself to experience. When Madara rode her body, regret was tossed aside like an unwieldy weight.

"If I were you, Sakura-chan, I would sacrifice the pawn and see if you couldn't capture the king," Orochimaru recommended.

Sakura glanced at Madara, but he remained thoughtfully silent. She sighed. "This isn't a game of 'Choose your favorite Uchiha'."

"But something will need to be done eventually. Sleep," Madara commanded. "There is no more we need discuss tonight."

And being so dismissed, Sakura's world dissolved in fire, which, just for a moment, twisted itself into a creature with nine tails.

-X-X-X-

Madara's forcefulness was almost forgotten as Sakura woke the next morning. The stiffness caused by her healing back made her frown as she dressed, then quietly came downstairs. Her father was already awake, a steaming cup of tea in front of him.

"Good morning," Sakura stumbled over the words, because her parents usually hadn't risen by the time she left the house.

Her father glanced at her. "Will you be leaving on a mission today?" he inquired.

"Perhaps," Sakura hedged as she dug through the refrigerator for the cold dishes she had prepared the night before. Even after all this time, mornings were not her favorite time of day and requiring herself to cook during it made her grumpy. Actually, requiring too much cooking from her at any time of day usually made her grumpy. She wasn't abysmal at it or anything, but she'd just as soon give the business to some enterprising restaurateur.

Unlike many of her more paranoid comrades, Sakura would rather build up a tolerance to poisons and take her chances on food prepared by the hands of others than do all her own cooking. After all, thinking _everyone_ was out to get you was an exercise in narcissism. Most of the civilians couldn't care less about whose country's ninja they were serving, especially when their countries weren't at war.

"Your new shipment is in."

"Thank you, honored father." And she was grateful for this aspect of belonging to her family. If she wanted to import poisonous plants and herbs from across the oceans or from far to the south, no one could procure it with less trouble and fewer questions than the Haruno clan, though most of their trade was in fine and exotic goods. "I'll pick it up from Jin-san later today."

"Your mother is upset," Toshihiko remarked evenly.

Sakura sat across the table from her father, not meeting his eyes as she picked at her rice. "Yes?"

"We are in disagreement. You mother wishes you to marry within the clan once you turn eighteen, which would allow me to appoint your husband as heir and would keep headship of the clan within our family."

The rice suddenly seemed much harder to swallow. "And what do you wish, honored father?"

"I have said that I will adopt one of your cousins. This has displeased your mother a great deal."

Sakura sat her chopsticks down quietly, moved her hands to fold them nervously in her lap, and bowed her head. "I am sorry to be the source of trouble between you." And she was.

The much younger her had known her mother was against her being a shinobi, but she'd never had the forethought to consider exactly what it _meant_ to her family. By all rights, Sakura was the heir-apparent. It was still possible that her mother might have a son or even another daughter, but with each year that passed, it became less and less likely. She had been her mother's miracle child, yet she'd become such a disappointment to her.

The Haruno clan was wealthy, influential, and well-connected, but Sakura had chosen a path where none of those things could help her. She had enough masters in her life. Sakura could not whole-heartedly serve another and that was the kind of loyalty Grandfather would demand of her. If she had been a Haruno, she would have already been betrothed at this point to a member of one of the other great merchant families, a second son or a favored cousin, perhaps, and at eighteen she would marry. Eventually Grandfather would die and her honored father would cede the headship to her, which would one day pass to one of her own sons or daughters.

"I am sorry," she repeated.

"It is no matter," Toshihiko assured her softly. "Eventually she will reconcile herself to the idea. I will allow her to choose which of her sisters' or brothers' sons will be brought in."

Her appetite had deserted her and Sakura wanted nothing more than to leave this table, but she forced herself to resume eating in measured bites.

"Honored father," Sakura began hesitantly, "did your family also...did you..." her voice trailed off awkwardly.

But Haruno Toshihiko, for all his mild and reserved manner, had a merchant's eyes. "Did I also trouble my family?"

"It's only...you never talk about where you came from," Sakura blurted in a rush.

"I was also a disappointment to my ancestors," her father remarked, his gaze turning inward. "That is why I have never returned, because I did not believe I could face them after what I did."

"What did you do?" Sakura asked. A tremble of excitement fluttered in her belly, because this was the most her father had ever said about his past.

"Something unforgiveable. We shall leave it at that," he replied firmly.

"Oh," disappointment replaced the excitement and the sour feeling left in her stomach from their earlier conversation seeped back in. An uncomfortable silence on Sakura's side stretched between them until she found her dishes empty. Rinsing them in the sink, she excused herself and hurried out into the streets of Konohagakure.

It was too early to meet her team for practice and she was relaxing her stringent training regime as her back healed, so she went to the Hokage Tower. Where, holing herself up in Tsunade's empty office, she began to systematically go through the village's dossier on Uchiha Itachi. _Didn't anyone ever think it was strange that more effort wasn't spent on trying to kill him? _she asked herself rhetorically. _After all, an ANBU captain has access to all sorts of classified files. What made them so certain he wouldn't sell that information? _

She found her answer in the section of the file devoted to post-desertion Itachi's movements. There were records of hunter-nin teams being sent out, but as she looked them over, she began to wonder if the teams had ever come near Itachi. Not a single casualty was reported. Which in itself was strange, because it was well known in Root circles that hunter-nin missions were a convenient excuse to be rid of troublesome shinobi.

Someone like the Uchiha Itachi the reports asked her to believe in would be the perfect target for that sort of mission. Not a whiff of suspicion would be aroused by a ninja dying in pursuit of a unicorn like Itachi.

Evidence was piling up around her in favor of Itachi's innocence, but until she could break the cipher on the orders she'd painstakingly copied from the Root archives, it would be all for naught. Circumstantial evidence could be brushed away like spider webs by a man like Danzou. It had been only happenstance she'd discovered the orders in the first place. The level of security attached to certain scrolls had been blazing red flags for a Sakura who was interested in revealing to herself, if no one else, what Danzou had been up to for all these years.

Itachi's orders had been sealed using an unusually complex array-an array that had taken Sakura all of ten minutes to break after her years of patient study to unlock the case that had held her own summoning contract.

Noise from the hallway made her shift a tome on earth ninjutsu over the files. Tsunade-shishou was yawning widely as she walked into her office, ignoring Shizune, who was trying to outline her master's schedule for the day.

"You're here early, Sakura," the blonde said with mild surprise. "Your self-training end early today?"

"Yes," Sakura lied without compunction. She was sure Tsunade-shishou had already noticed her injury, but unless she indicated a willingness to explain its origin and she didn't happen to be bleeding on the gleaming hardwood of her office, she wouldn't press. As her apprentice, she at least trusted Sakura that much.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. I have something I needed to talk to you about anyway."

Sakura rose and went to stand before her desk. "Yes, shishou?"

"Your ANBU team. I've decided to create one for you."

Sakura blinked. "Come again, shishou?"

Tsunade sighed, slumping to one side, resting her head on a hand. She indicated a few thin files that had been scattered across the working area of her desk with her free hand. "Call it an early birthday present."

"None of the teams that had an open slot seemed quite suitable," Shizune explained.

"We were going to promote a few this cycle anyway. So, besides the Hyuuga, who would you like as a subordinate?"

"Subordinate? You're making me a captain, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura was flabbergasted. This was most certainly _not_ protocol, but somehow with Tsunade that was less of a surprise than it should have been.

"Think of it as a double promotion. You've worked under ANBU before, so I'm skipping the training period."

"But, why?"

One of Tsunade's blonde brows inched toward her hairline. "Because you're talented," Tsunade said.

Sakura's jade eyes narrowed at the woman who she thought of as a mother-figure. "The council has done something again," she divined shrewdly.

"Danzou wants you put into the Root program permanently. I won't allow that to happen," Tsunade growled. "Besides, you and Hyuuga Neji have been ready for this for months. You really should have been promoted after the Sasori incident."

"Neji is a Hyuuga. His clan isn't going to be happy if he's placed under a captain with no experience," Sakura pointed out.

"Hmph. Well, we can't always arrange our lives to make the clans happy. Besides, when I spoke to Hiashi about it, he didn't seem too opposed to the idea."

"Really?" Sakura didn't quite believe that. Surely he would want to put his nephew on an experienced squad, where within a few years he might have the experience and recognition to have a team of his own.

"Really," Tsunade confirmed. "I was a little surprised too, but it looks like you've made some friends in high places."

Sakura didn't know what to say. She'd always rather thought the Hyuuga patriarch fearsomely neutral about her, despite the invitations to talk about his nephew's progress and to play board games.

"Nothing to say to that, eh? Well, that's fine. So, you've got you and Neji. Any requests?"

"Sai," Sakura replied immediately. "Assign Sai to me."

This time both brows rose. "He's one of Danzou's."

"I know," Sakura smiled. "But I think it will be good for all of us. This is a gesture of my continued loyalty to Danzou. So, he is likely to receive Sai's reports as truth without further looking into the matter."

Understanding lit Tsunade's eyes. "You think you can turn Sai," she breathed.

Sakura shrugged. "Not me, Naruto's already done most of the heavy lifting. But Sai is like most Root agents. Strangely easy to manipulate, because he doesn't really understand people beyond what he reads in books. Honestly, it's pretty adorable," Sakura giggled, but then she grew serious.

"The fact of the matter is we also need someone who favors distance combat. Neji and I both prefer close combat and there isn't anyone in our age range who's ANBU-level that fits that description. You really should promote Shino to jounin already," she grouched to the Hokage.

Who smiled at the scolding. "I would if it was my decision, but his clan says he isn't ready yet." Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't know it by watching him fight, but I respect the Aburame clan's opinion."

Sakura nodded.

"So, Neji and Sai. Who else? Shikamaru? He's a talent too," Tsunade recommended.

"Please," Sakura snorted, "we both know one day he'll head the Intel department, just like Ino's going to end up in T&I once her field days are over."

"And you intend to outlast them all in the field?" Tsunade asked dryly.

"Shikamaru doesn't advance to jounin because he doesn't want to. What makes you think he'd want to put up with the stress of ANBU? I don't need an operative that I need to talk into every mission."

"I'm under the impression he's a little more reliable than that," she said, but a smile tugged at the edges of her lips. Shikamaru had never been offered a promotion, but Sakura half-thought if he could turn it down before his mother heard about it, he would. There was no one she knew who was less enthusiastic about being a ninja who was simultaneously so good at it.

"It's because he has Ino to keep him in line," Sakura grinned. Shikamaru-baiting was probably a sport that should appear on Ino's dossier, but she knew that the three members of Asuma's team, who had been together since childhood, shared bonds that few other teams could hope to match. One day their children would problem be stuck with each other and would complain of their parents recounting their good old days like the three complained of their own fathers.

"Well, you have two members. You need a fourth. Who'll it be?"

Sakura's eyes traveled back to the desk she'd vacated and the files concealed there. An idea sparked to life in her brain. Striding over, she unearthed them, then slammed them down recklessly on Tsunade-shishou's desk. Splaying her hands flat over the edges, she leaned slightly forward. "Uchiha Itachi," she demanded breathlessly.

"What?" Tsunade yelped, sitting bolt upright in her chair, her own palms slapping down shoulder-width apart. "Sakura, what are you-? Are you crazy?"

"Like a fox," Sakura purred. "I want you to assign me to recall my team member to Konoha, where he'll be subject to my discipline as a member of my squad."

"He killed his _entire_ _clan_," Tsunade stressed.

"No. He didn't," Sakura said. "Which was in direct violation of his orders. As far as I'm concerned, Uchiha Itachi still has an active mission, which he abandoned. The order will be rescinded and he'll be punished by a demotion, placing him under the least experienced of the ANBU captains."

"Sakura, I am this close to beating you until you make sense," Tsunade threatened.

Sakura straightened, reaching inside her kimono top for the packet she tended to carry on her. It wasn't like anyone would be able to read most of the missive if they took it from her. She tossed it onto Tsunade's deask and the older woman picked it up.

"I've broken part of it. The date matches with the day the genocide occurred. Weasel refers to Itachi. Monkey King, who assigned the orders-"

"Would be the Sandaime," Tsunade said grimly. "I know this code."

"Really?" Sakura asked with surprise.

"It was used during the last war by high-ranking shinobi, but it's fallen out of favor, which is why you wouldn't be familiar with it. It was never made public knowledge even after the war ended." Her face darkened as she continued reading. "You didn't read this?"

"No."

"Then why did you conclude Uchiha Itachi didn't go made?"

Sakura hesitantly explained her own conclusions, carefully not mentioning that she'd had the help of her dissociated personalities in leading her to the conclusions.

"Impressive," Tsunade praised when she'd finished. "Intuition is also an important skill for a ninja. I would have never thought-" Tsunade took a deep, agitated breath. "If this gets out, you know what it will do to the Saindaime's reputation?"

"I refuse to condemn a living man to spare the reputation of a dead one," Sakura said quietly. "I thought you would feel the same, shishou."

"If the clans know that a Hokage ordered the destruction of one of our very own clans, we could have civil war," Tsunade replied.

"It doesn't have to come to that. Make it plain the Uchiha clan was planning a rebellion. The Sandaime wasn't foolish enough to give an order like without evidence. Evidence that he would have kept, because he was an old man and he knew Danzou someday might use it to plan a coup against him. You _need _to find that evidence, shishou. And then, before you release it, speak to each of the clan heads privately. Explain the circumstances. Most of the clans have never had their loyalty called into question, so it might not be as much of a threat to them as you think, Tsunade-sama. They likely had their own suspicions, which is why they didn't raise much of a fuss at the thought of a clan killer on the loose."

Tsunade stared at her so long and hard that Sakura felt the need to shift uncomfortably. "I see you haven't been wasting your time as my apprentice," Tsunade said with a chuckle, "You've learned to play politics as well. Alright," she agreed, putting her elbows up on the table and lacing her fingers thoughtfully beneath her chin, "we'll do it your way. But here is _my _condition."

Sakura took a step back from the desk and bowed her head. "Yes, Tsunade-shishou?"

"We're going to purge Konoha in one fell swoop," Tsunade whispered, hazel eyes hard, fingers clenched so tight they were white. "Danzou must be removed. We cannot use this incident to do it, but you will need to bring me evidence we can use to pressure the elder council into making him step down."

"But we _can_ use this incident," Sakura insisted. "I didn't copy it because I knew what they meant, but this is an S-rank mission. That means-"

"The elder council's seals are all on it," Tsunade finished for her. "Where is the original?"

"Root archives."

"Does Danzou know you have this?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't think so."

Tsunade stood abruptly, her chair rattling backwards. "We're going," she declared.

"Now?" Sakura asked with surprise.

"Danzou is a cunning old man," Tsunade snarled. "If he's moved it, we need to know. If he hasn't, we have to act before he suspects. We can't afford to hesitate. Let's go."

The guards outside her doors didn't remark on the fairly common sight of the three woman who were among the village's most talented kunoichi.

Sneaking down corridors, following the one woman in all of Konoha who should have been able to walk these halls with impunity, Sakura felt anxiety begin to gnaw at her stomach. At the last intersection before they reached the room that contained Root's archives, the three of them and Tonton huddled down.

"He doesn't guard his archives?" Shizune asked, her voice barely more than a breathe.

"You saw the guards at the entrance," Sakura murmured. "In here, everyone belongs to Danzou, body and soul. Besides, the real test is the doors themselves. Unless you serve Danzou, they won't open for you." That was part and parcel of the seal his applied to his agents' tongues, but Sakura had silently studied that door for years as she was escorted in and out. Now she had a seal between the toes of her left foot that mimicked the seal's interaction with the door.

"Stay here, shishou," Sakura murmured. "If you're discovered here, Danzou will know something is wrong."

Crouched low, Sakura scuttled forward, slipping through the door when it had opened just enough to admit her body, immediately taking to the ceiling, where she was offered a bug's eye view of the archive. Empty. Some kami of fortune was favoring them today. Praying to that kami, Sakura slunk forward to where the scroll had been when she'd discovered it.

Dismay painted her features when she found it wasn't there. But Sakura had never been known to surrender at the first setback after the Forest of Death, so she silently made her way to where the record of the scrolls entering and leaving the archives was kept. It hadn't been more than a month since she'd discovered it, so she skimmed the records since then. She found no mention of it, but that alone made her smile. The only one in Root who could borrow scrolls without leaving a record was Danzou himself.

She reported as much to Tsunade when she returned to the corridor. "What do we do now?" Shizune asked worriedly.

"We go to his office. That's where he'll keep it," Sakura whispered. "There would be no way he could know it's that specific scroll we're interested in."

"But if it's so dangerous to his position?"

Sakura's smile was faint and humorless. "You haven't seen some of the scrolls in the archives. There are enough in their to convict Danzou of war crimes a dozen times over."

"Oh."

"You have a plan?" Tsunade demanded.

Sakura nodded. "Tsunade-shishou, you'll need to return to your office."

The older woman smiled. There was humor in her smile. "And Shizune should go and summon Danzou to see me, is that it? After all, if you want Sai, I'll need to speak to him anyway."

Sakura nodded sharply. "Yes. I'll come to your office as soon as I find it."

"Good."

Shizune and Sakura waited a full ten minutes to be safe, then they approached the lair of the demon, Sakura shadowing her sempai on the ceiling using her Total Dark stealth technique. She held her breath and stilled her heartbeat almost totally as Danzou passed beneath her, but the moment Shizune escorted him beyond the first turn, Sakura dropped from the ceiling and slipped inside.

Danzou's taste for windowless, secure rooms continued to be reflected in his choice of office. But Sakura had no time to waste, so she immediately began to search the usual places.

_Where do his eyes rest most often in this office?_ Madara asked her calmly, as if this was a simple field exercise and not a mission that might change the entire power structure of her hidden village.

But Sakura also knew the answer. There was a certain piece of calligraphy on the far wall where Danzou's eyes often strayed. And, behind four series of seals that she hastily memorized so she could put them back in place, Sakura found a recess in the wall. Not even bothering to look over the others, because lingering was an unacceptable risk, Sakura snatched her scroll once she was certain Danzou hadn't trapped it. This series of seals was even quicker as Sakura had already disabled them once, but she confirmed that this was the correct scroll.

Sliding it inside her top, Sakura reapplied the sealing array with quick precision, then disappeared from the building before Naruto would have been able to say "Believe it!"

Almost giddy with the success of her heist, she nonetheless calmed her heartbeat as she approached Tsunade's office for the second time that day. Bowing gravely to Danzou as he left, Sakura slipped inside.

"Concerning that matter, shishou," Sakura said, just in case he was still listening, "I've taken care of it." Sliding it onto Tsunade's desk, where the woman examined it wordlessly.

The grin that crossed her face could only be described as fiendish. "Excellent, Sakura."

A/N: Geh. The code part was harder than I thought it would be to write, because most modern cryptography involves computers, but the technology in the Naruto universe is definitely not involved with public-key, symmetric key, or middle-square method PRNG. And to think, there are about two sentences for it.

And this chapter might have been longer, except, well, you'll see why in the next installment.


	23. Night of the Hunter

Disclaimer: One day, one day, I will publish original fiction and own the copyright. But until then, copyright remains in the hands of others and I mean no infringement by this story. This includes the prayer that appears later in chapter—the translation is not mine, I am just borrowing.

A/N: Inspiration is a wonderful thing.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-Three-

Night of the Hunter

Sakura was still feeling the rush of endorphins from her impromptu mission earlier, but she had tempered it with the knowledge that Tsunade couldn't act immediately. Which was why the remainder of Team Kakashi was slowly filtering into her office. While Tsunade might have some character failings (read drunken slovenliness), she was not an incapable Hokage and her brusque affection for her village more than made up for anything she lacked, in Sakura's opinion. But she _was _a Sannin. So it was to be expected she would occasionally send them on missions like this, with a twofold purpose.

One was the direct objective of the mission. The other was to move Sasuke and Sakura well out of Danzou's reach. Sakura wasn't precisely thrilled at the idea of Tsunade confronting Danzou without her there for support, but Tsunade had promised to keep the proceedings as public as possible so no untoward "accidents" could happen. Sakura knew the Hokage planned to slip from her keepers for the rest of the day as soon as Team Kakashi was on its way to speak with the clan heads.

"Now that we have Sasuke in our custody, I see no reason not to use him," Tsunade explained. "Take him and destroy as many of Orochimaru's bases as you can." Before he could protest, Tsunade turned to Sasuke and told him, "If you don't offer full cooperation to your team, I'm sure we can make your stay in the village far less comfortable."

Sasuke, whose regenerative abilities, combined with Tsunade's care, meant that he'd recently shed his cast and could finally breath without pain, scowled at her, but didn't protest.

"That's a pretty big mission," Kakashi commented.

"S-rank," Tsunade confirmed.

Kakashi sighed. "Can't be helped, I guess. Meet at the gates in thirty minutes."

Hazel eyes caught verdant green and an understanding passed between master and student. By the time they returned, this village would be set on its head. It was their responsibility to assure that their nearest external threat, Oto, didn't attack in that moment of vulnerability.

Remembering her conversation with her father earlier, Sakura came in through her balcony, the mindless mission prep taking her perhaps five minutes. When she turned, everything safely secured in sealing scrolls, Sai was perched on her balcony.

"Ready, hag?" he asked.

"Not quite. I have one more stop," Sakura said, curious about her newest teammate's need to collect her. She led the way over the rooftops to the outskirts of Konoha, where one of her family's warehouses was located. Knocking briskly at the door, she called out, "Jin-san?"

It only took a moment for the door to open, revealing a fresh-faced woman who had her dark hair pulled back with a thick headband. "Ah, Sakura-sama. Please come in," she invited, all the while bowing her head very properly. "Your items are in the office."

Leading them through crates of tea, rolls of silk and brocade, and hanging bundles of exotic spices, she took them into the offices. A counter in the far corner was covered with boxes, some elaborately decorated. "Thank you, Jin-san."

The woman bowed again, but once she'd entered into her space, the warehouse, the veil of deference had faded away. "Not a problem, Sakura-sama," she said with a roguish grin. "Your requests are always more interesting than the rest of the family. Get me this bauble, get me this pretty, then you come along and suddenly I find myself meeting all these interesting new people whose faces I never get to see."

Sakura's expression was wry. "Well, I'm glad you enjoy it."

"That I do. But if you don't mind, I'm up to my neck in lists while we're doing inventory. You know where to find me if something's wrong." With a casual wave, the woman retreated back into the warehouse, where Sakura could hear her shouting at the workers.

"Interesting," Sai commented blandly. "She is in your employ?"

"She's what you might call a land pirate," Sakura commented as she moved to where her packages waited. "Or she was. Working for my family lets her stay in the market without losing any more fingers." Jin had only two fingers left on her right hand, having lost the others in an only partially-successful punishment for thievery.

Sai watched her quietly as Sakura checked through the boxes, pleased at what she found. Pulling out a fresh scroll, she sealed them all. "Well, that's it," Sakura said. "Now, let's go."

Naruto and Sasuke were already waiting for them when they arrived. Sakura knew that Sasuke had spent at least part of the last half hour with some special jounin, because there were new seals placed on top the old ones meant to stop him from utilizing his chakra. Sakura preferred poison compounds to inhibit chakra herself, though there were all sorts of complications involved with that. People developed strange and unexpected immunities, which is why she had so many of her ingredients imported from distant shores.

Even peasants in an area that was especially abundant in some sort of natural poison could develop a resistance to them, especially with plants. Many of her best poisons came from the inhabitants of the seas deep to the south and the animals and plants native to the jungles that were thick around the equator. It was expensive to have them shipped so far and be certain they were in good condition (the fish, for example, were harvested live and then frozen), but so long as her honored father lived, Sakura would never be denied the wealth or connections of the Haruno clan.

She didn't know what would happen when one of her cousins succeeded her father, but that was far into the future. While that might have seemed a foolish lack of planning, Sakura was realistic about her expectations.

Ninja, especially the shinobi of ANBU, had an expiration date.

Unless you happened to be a monster like Orochimaru, Jiraiya, or Tsunade. That was half the reason the Sannin were so feared. Human beings had a definite physical peak, after which they declined and eventually died. Well into what were the sunset years for even civilians, the three legendary figures were like kami or youkai. They never seemed to lose ground. And for Tsunade and Orochimaru, they even maintained the illusion of their youth. Even Sakura's breath still caught in awe when she trained with Tsunade-shishou. Who by all rights should have died of alcohol poisoning years ago.

"Heh, heh," Naruto laughed awkwardly, "This is kinda like old times, isn't it?" His tone was forced, but it was obvious he was trying to force the three silent nin into conversation.

"I believe that to be an inaccurate statement," Sai offered politely. "From my research, it would seem that the hag was weak as well as ugly. The Uchiha had not yet become a traitor to his village and attempted to kill his comrades." He paused thoughtfully. "You are probably the same, dickless."

"Yeah, well, _you_ weren't here either," Naruto grumbled. "Seriously, Sasuke, Sakura, don't you miss it at all?"

"Not at all, dobe," Sasuke said. "Which is why I hate being here."

"I miss parts of it," Sakura volunteered, "but what's past is past. There are things in the present that I wouldn't give up for anything." _Not even to have Sasuke really, truly back or have my mind whole again. Because Tsunade-shishou isn't in my past and Neji, Neji was someone I only knew for being cruel to Hinata and believing in the inescapable net of fate. And Naruto, if you only knew what you'd be doing to Sai-chan if you sent him back to Danzou. _

"I also prefer the present," Sai concurred. "It is most interesting to observe the interaction between the ninja of your generation."

"I don't know," Kakashi's lackadaisical voice said suddenly from behind Naruto, causing him to jump and Sasuke to flinch, "there were some pretty memorable parts to the past. I wouldn't mind reliving the highlight reel."

Sakura's green eyes narrowed. "You were watching _Ichi Ichi Paradise: The Movie_'sspecial features again," she accused.

"Why would you say that?" he asked with a smile.

"Because, despite everyone arriving ten minutes late, you're here only five minutes after us. You didn't have time to watch the whole movie, so I'm guessing you watched the making of featurette that was included in the special edition."

"And how would you know about a thing like that, Sakura-chan?"

"I would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to miss the advertisements. Seriously, that store is on a public street. You'd think there'd be laws against that sort of thing."

"You just don't want to admit you like that sort of thing," Kakashi teased.

"You have an interest in pornography?" Sai asked at her shoulder.

Sakura sighed and wished for once her hair wasn't so elaborately styled, because then she could run her hands through it in frustration.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed, as if that explained something. Remembering Sai's pronouncement of having seen her naked, Sakura's shoulders sagged.

_Just great. We haven't even left yet and I can't stand him. They say that dreams linger long after the sunlight has turned them to dust, but for how long can I keep to that dream, that Sasuke that I remember? Did that Sasuke ever really exist? This memory of mine… _

There was only silence, as Madara was not inclined to answer.

-X-X-X-

The first two bases had been more like bolt-holes, easily cleared and destroyed. Sasuke had then taken it on himself to direct them to the north, where Orochimaru's main experimentation laboratory was located.

Hidden among the rocks that surrounded the near-barren land that disguised it, Sakura frowned. Splitting up the squad wasn't something that normally caused her distress, as two of her comrades were ANBU-level and the other was _Naruto_, but she couldn't suppress the anxiety she felt.

"Something wrong, hag?" Sai asked. Naruto had looked rather flummoxed when she'd insisted on Sai being her partner when they'd split into pairs, but Sasuke had only sneered. Sakura didn't have the heart to tell him that Kakashi, with his Sharingan and greater combat experience, would be better able to anticipate and support his fighting style in the halls of the underground fortress.

She knew his default attack when basic ninja skills weren't sufficient was Rasengan, but when pushed Naruto still had quite the impressive inventory of unconventional attacks. While that was all well and good, it often realistically meant he was as difficult to fight beside as it was for his enemies to fight against him. Besides, with the two of them working together, she felt more confident in letting Sasuke out of her direct line of sight.

"Ugly, I didn't know you were deaf."

"I heard you, Sai-chan."

The strange dark-haired shinobi fell silent at her gentle rebuke. Sakura couldn't help but be amused at his strange need to make conversation. Or, perhaps, a need not so strange, seeing as it had probably never been met in the depths of Root.

Ino had remarked to her he looked remarkably like Sasuke, but Sakura couldn't see the resemblance. Both were dark-haired and handsome, true, but so was a significant percentage of the population. Sai's dark eyes spoke of a very different man than Sasuke's, whose eyes she might sometimes describe, when he thought no one was watching his expression, as 'hell-dark.'

"Danzou-sama informed me you requested that I should be placed on your squad." Sai commented in seeming idleness. But Sakura turned her attention to him, recalling how important bonds had become to the shinobi, the words he'd hurled like kunai at Sasuke.

"Yes. Is it no good, Sai-chan?" she teased gently.

"You will also take the Hyuuga," he observed, making no reply to her taunt. Sakura was skilled at observation as only a kunoichi could be, but though Sai could not lie well, he could conceal his emotions even from himself. It was impossible for her to know how he felt about her decision.

A decision she'd never asked him about, she realized suddenly. She'd known, anticipated that Danzou would give him to her, like he was some scroll she was borrowing. Sakura had been so caught up in her plans, convinced they were the best for everyone involved, that she'd forgotten to slow down for a moment and _ask_.

She wondered darkly if Madara, for all his silence, influenced her more than she realized.

"I trust Neji," she started slowly. "He has been my partner for years. I find him easy to work with and his skills are second to none."

"So he is valuable to you?"

"Yes. But it isn't just that. Neji is my friend." Sakura glanced over at Sai, the look unintentionally coy. "So are you, Sai. I'm sorry that I didn't ask you before telling Tsunade-sama. I still have much to learn, but would you be willing to share your strength with me?"

Sai's smile was not his usual eye-crinkling expression that could convey so much and yet so little, but Sakura treasured the small tug at the corners of his pale lips.

"That was a pretty formal request, hag."

"Hm. And that wasn't really an answer." Sakura briefly used her senses to probe the base, but all seemed to be going as it should be. The life signatures were being slowly extinguished as they used Kakashi's plan of attack (as opposed to Naruto's open brawl and lots of noise plan) to destroy the base section by section. Because of the nature of the experiments that had taken place there, this base was designed so that entire sections could be quarantined and contained. They'd used this to their advantage.

Some of the experiments, when they'd noticed the killings, had attacked the entry team, but others had attempted to flee. Which was why she and Sai were waiting above-ground. Not one of the abominations Orochimaru had produced was going to be allowed to escape.

It was not especially taxing. They tended to come in waves, the lulls allowing her ample time for this conversation. It seemed that after the first few attempts at escape had failed, the mutated humans waited until they had sufficient power or numbers to make another try for freedom. A freedom she wasn't kind enough to grant them, though she wouldn't really be surprised if Naruto won a few converts by the time this mission was over. The kind of desperation that would push a person into these experiments seemed to be a fertile field for his seeds of kindness to bloom.

Sai moved, which attracted her attention. Reaching into his pack, she recognized the white oval of porcelain for what is was even before he handed it to her. "I told Tsunade-sama that I would accept the appointment before we left." At Sakura's unspoken question, he answered, "She called me back inside her office after the others had left."

"It's blank," she observed quietly, finger running reverently around the rim of the mask. ANBU had never been part of her dreams as a child, when she'd first become a kunoichi. Not even when she'd finally put her life into order. That had seemed like a dream far out of reach, and a dark dream at that.

"Yes."

"Are you going to leave it like that?"

Sai huffed in amusement. "I need for you to decide, before I can paint it."

Sakura laid the mask down on the ground between them. "Seiryuu," she said, tapping the hard surface with a blunt nail. "Paint it in azure, like the sky."

"Seiryuu," Sai said, closing his eyes in consideration, like he might divine the lines rather than sketch them. "Hyuuga?" he asked, opening his eyes suddenly.

"Suzaku."

"The vermillion bird. That means you've decided to interpret your mask as Byakko rather than just Tora."

Byakko. The king of all beasts, the white tiger that appeared only when the emperor ruled with absolute virtue. It had made perfect, ironic sense.

"If you're going to assemble the Shishin, who is your Genbu?"

The black tortoise of the north, sometimes called the black warrior. Of them all, Itachi was the one who most fit the mask she'd chosen for him. Seiryuu she'd given to Sai because she wanted to give him the gift of spring, but she had no illusions that Itachi would be grateful for being brought home. Except, perhaps…perhaps he might be able to see, as well, what had been so obvious to her since she'd ground Uchiha Sasuke's bones beneath her feet. If he was allowed to go on, Sasuke would eventually discover the truth. And then he would turn the village into an endless cycle of blood vengeance for a clan dead many years now.

Sakura smiled at Sai. "Genbu is a surprise."

"They are not the usual animals," Sai observed. "It will make them very recognizable."

"See, that's the thing about masks," Sakura smile grew cunning, "You can take them off. If you build a legend as Seiryuu, you can walk about unnoticed as Sai. But masks are worn for another reason, beyond the need to hide your identity. They're meant to inspire fear. And if I can build a team worthy of being called the Four Celestial Beasts, we might even eclipse the reputation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"Wh—," Sai's response was lost as the wireless roared fuzzily to life.

"Sakura, Sai, get down here. Orochimaru was here."

Sakura started. _No. _

But Kakashi wasn't finished. "Jiraiya must have taught Naruto some things about sealing, because he unsealed Sasuke's chakra so he could help fight."

They were at the entrance, feet pounding against carved stone steps, heading into darkness. Sasuke's stolen chokuto was unsheathed and the blade made no complaint as she started cutting a swath through the experiments that had been waiting just inside.

"We'd almost killed him. But there was someone else here, the origin of the cursed seal. I was distracted by fighting him. Orochimaru managed to isolate Naruto, too. I think he must have tried to take over Sasuke's body. Except, he must have underestimated the Sharingan."

"What are you saying, Kakashi?" Sakura demanded, for once leaving off her respectful –sempai.

"Orochimaru's body is dead, but I think Sasuke sealed his spirit inside himself."

At that moment, a resounding crash came from deep in the fortress and Sakura and Sai took refuge in doorways as chunks of the ceiling came down.

Sai's dark eyes met her from across the hall. They were like pools of ink, unreadable.

"They just took the fight aboveground." There was a cough from Kakashi's end, but it sounded wet and unhealthy. "Ah, might need a little help here, Sakura-chan."

When they finally reached one of the deep, wide chambers that seemed to be Orochimaru's favorite design element in his bases, Sakura had to resist the urge to facepalm. "Your gift for understatement never ceases to amaze me, Kakashi-sempai," she said blandly.

From where he was relaxed against the wall, blood slowly seeping from between his fingers from what seeming to be a three-inch hole in his side, Kakashi offered her a smile.

"It missed all the vital organs, Sakura-chan."

"You have approximately one organ you consider vital, Kakashi-sempai, and it isn't your heart or your brain." Sakura knelt by the silver-haired jounin, who painfully pretended to take offense as Sakura probed the wound.

"You were so cute and innocent when you were younger."

Sakura snorted, even as she coaxed Kakashi into a prone position where she could better treat his wound. The gaping hole in the ceiling provided light from a sun just rising. "Why'd let him hit you?"

Kakashi rolled his one open eye at Sai. His Sharingan eye was uncovered, which meant he'd been forced to use it, but he hadn't collapsed yet, for which Sakura was grateful. Though if the instability of his chakra was an indication, it wouldn't be much longer.

"Get a girl to jounin and then she asks why I _let_ him hit me," he complained, wincing as Sakura put pressure on the wound.

"Sai, come take over for a moment. I have some herbs that will thicken his blood and stop the bleeding."

Sai obediently did as he was told and Sakura administered the promised herbs, crushed to a paste and spread thickly over the wound, then bandaged tightly. "We'll still need to be careful of internal bleeding," Sakura murmured. For all the wealth of techniques she'd been forced to never use by Amanozako, Sakura had never been quite so frustrated by it as this. She ignored the sounds of the battle outside, carefully did not think about it.

But Sai must have understood. "Go on, Ugly. Orochimaru must have kept healers of his own here, if this is the base he fled to after the last battle. I will acquire one." Said as if they were a bento at the corner store.

Kakashi nodded. "I'll just take a little nap, Sakura-chan. I'm in no hurry to leave this world yet. The _Icha Icha Tactics_ adaption releases in four months."

Sakura fingers ghosted over the bandage. "I'll hurry back then, Kakashi-sempai."

His answering smile was gentler this time. "You don't have to carry the whole world with you, Sakura. Sasuke isn't your responsibility."

Sakura could feel the muscles in her face smoothing out as Madara rose up inside her. In her reading, she'd only ever stumbled across one analogous sensation to this, that which some spiritualists felt when being ridden or possessed by a kami. Perhaps Madara was not real in the sense of being flesh and blood, nor was he an ancestral ghost, but sometimes, guiltily, she was grateful.

There were times when she was weak, but trying to destroy Madara's will was like trying to extinguish the sun with a single bucket of water. It could not be done.

This time she had the presence of mind to slip out of her weights before the fighting began. Then, like wind sweeping across the high plains, she was gone.

-X-X-X-

She'd known that they were just _fighting _from the noise. What she hadn't understood was what it was to watch what were nothing less than demons at war clash. A many headed snake strove against the Kyuubi, now with three burning tails writhing in the sky.

A human could not step between them.

Sakura hadn't felt so helpless in _years_. All that time, all that effort, and yet her she was. Because she was reduced to nothing more than the civilian child, that paper-ninja, the one who had nothing but her head and her heart, because there was nothing special about her blood.

If Haku didn't already rule over the Wastes of Despair, she was certain a new Kingdom would have opened to her in that moment. And it would have helped her not at all, because while each Kingdom taught her more about herself and allowed her to use her body, her best weapon, more ruthlessly, it could not give her the power to face either of her teammates. Not until that final Kingdom.

Amanozako would take her beyond the realm of humanity, she knew now, but it would be a hollow victory. She would steal away all the reasons that Sakura needed to win—her love of village, friends, and family.

Sakura could barely see them now, even as two of the enormous snake's heads ripped into the chakra that burned like magma and formed the Kyuubi. Shakily, Sakura brought a hand to her face and found it was tears that blurred her vision.

"How dare you, Sasuke," she hissed through her teeth. "How dare you."

She'd had so many plans, but plans rested in the hands of people, and people were fallible in ways good plans were not.

Madara had been silently watching through her eyes, but now he stopped her tears. Burned them away, like fire flushed through her tear ducts. This was not the way.

Sakura sucked in air like she was breathing in the universe itself, then tried to center herself. Madara was right, she was a thinking-ninja, a paper-ninja, and for a moment she'd let herself be carried away by the pain of seeing a reflection of her unchangeable past. But this was not the past.

"The Kami of Earth, Sarutahiko no Ō Kami, following the instructions of Amaterasu Ō Mi Kami, guides us by conveying the sacred teachings of the ancient way. All people are the embodiment of the kami, having received gift of birth and growth. Heaven and earth were brought to life by the kami. Followers of the kami may receive this sacred teaching which will enable them to make their spirits quiet, calm," Sakura chanted softly.

Passive meditation had become a dangerous exercise as Orochimaru had taken up residence in her mind, but she couldn't depend on the martial mediation she'd taken up instead to serve her on the battlefield. So she prayed to the kami she believed on in the morning and despaired of by evening. So she used norito to ask for purification. Whether she believed it was granted or not, the ritual intonation of the words grounded her.

When she was finished, she was empty, hollow, and Madara filled her up with fire. They could wear the forms of demons, but Sakura lived with monsters in her mind.

_If we cannot take the boy now, there will be more opportunity in the future, _Madara promised. _It might be best to let him go for now. _

_How so?_

_Uchiha Itachi is not the fool his younger brother is. He will not come back simply because you ask. Itachi-san believed in honor and duty enough to slaughter his entire family. Do not slight this. _

_What do you plan, Madara?_

_Go to him and say, _This is the only way to save the brother that you love.

_This?_

_To live, because now all he lives for is death. To put an end to his brother's hate. _

Sakura snorted. _Then it's Itachi who is the fool, if he thinks hate disappears so easily. _

Orochimaru might have asked if she had ever truly known what it was to hate, but Madara, for all of being a symptom of an extreme form of dissociative personality disorder, wanted to keep her more intact. Orochimaru would have driven her to madness, but Madara would drive her to power. She hadn't decided which was the more terrible end.

Running her fingers nimbly through the handsigns, Sakura kept her eyes fixed on the dark form of Sasuke within his nest of snakes. Putting her palm flat against the ground, she murmured, "Trap Art: Daidara-bō's Footprint."

The ground beneath Sasuke caved in and he had to leap out of the way to avoid falling into her impromptu pit. Daidara-bō's Footprint was not a particularly useful jutsu against other ninja, but it worked well against bandits and civilian targets. She wasn't trying to hurt him yet, just to turn his attention to her.

Appearing just out of the striking range of the Kyuubi-ridden Naruto, Sakura hoped he would cooperate with her. Together, they might be able to bring Sasuke back. Even if it was as a strangely twisted tengu creature.

"Trying to run away again, Sasuke?" she called out.

Sasuke snorted. "I was never really back to start with, Sakura. This time, I won't go easy on you."

"You're making a mistake, Sasuke."

"No, Sakura, you're the one who's mistaken. I will kill my brother and avenge my family. Run back down into the dark with your little _replacement_, but get out of my way."

"Sai-chan isn't replacing anybody. He won't be on Team Kakashi for much longer. Come back, let us _help _you," she said, but it wasn't quite pleading. Sakura had also sacrificed much to bring herself to where they now stood. She wouldn't beg Sasuke to see reason. She might carve it in careful letters on the skin of his back, but until he learned to bend, Sakura would not let him near Itachi.

Because Itachi would eventually let Sasuke kill him. And then, one day, Sasuke would learn the truth. And on that day, there truly would be no going back, no salvaging the faint hints of brightness she hoped she wasn't deceiving herself in seeing.

"You're a little more fickle now than in the past. Does Sai know you're just using him to replace _me_?"

Dear kami of heaven and earth, he was delusional. "What can I say?" she said, baring her teeth in a predatory smile, "I've always had a good eye for _talent_. But enough small talk. I'll tell you every dirty detail when we get back to Konoha, because this time I'm considering crushing all fifty-two bones in your feet, so you won't even be able to limp away."

Sasuke's disturbingly painted lips were pulled into a smirk. "Just try," he challenged.

-X-X-X-

Hyuuga Neji stood before the Hokage. Who looked worried, lips half-hidden by her laced hands. "According to Sai's last communication, they're at Orochimaru's northern base."

"Do you expect them to run into trouble?" he asked carefully.

She snorted. "It's Orochimaru. There's always trouble, where he's concerned."

"Then what-?"

"The Elder Council approved stripping Danzou of power."

Neji blinked. The powerful and influential commander of Root?

"But when a messenger was sent to his office to give him the news, he wasn't there to receive the order. Until that piece of paper is delivered into his hands, he isn't officially stripped of power. The members of Root seem to be under the impression that he took a team out on some covert mission. They don't know when he'll be back. It's almost guaranteed that he saw through our play."

Neji straightened. "What do you need me to do, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade slapped a scroll into his hand. "It's an S-rank mission. You're to report to Haruno Sakura as soon as possible. She'll be your commander for the duration. Don't open the scroll. You're only to deliver it to her."

_What in the world is going on? _

But his answer was smooth and confident. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Her hazel eyes did not relax. "You must get to her before Danzou does," she murmured.

A/N: Little bit of Shinto-ism occurring in this chapter. It's not broached at all in the manga except with Hidan, but surely they believe in something. The Hyuuga are all Buddhists, by the way. Mostly at weddings and funerals.

And the Daidara-bō, also called the daidara-bocchi, is supposedly a legendary giant.


	24. Birds From a Cage Have Flown

Disclaimer: …If I wrote in this space that I actually owned this, would anyone even believe me? But I don't. Own this, that is.

A/N: Three more chapters and we'll exceed the length of the original story. Although, word-wise, we've already surpassed it. This is officially a novel length work. Also, after twenty-seven, all the problems people have been having reviewing this story should disappear. I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you to everyone who has been so generous with their support. Your reviews really do make my day and I hope everyone has at least as much fun reading this as I have writing it. So, on to chapter twenty-four.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-Four-

Birds From a Cage Have Flown

Naruto's brief flare of demonic energy had ebbed, leaving him only to stare in distressed confusion at Sasuke. "Why?" he shouted hoarsely. "Why are you doing this, Sasuke?" Kyuubi's fiery chakra licked beneath the surface of his skin, but he suppressed it for the moment.

"You would never understand," Sasuke hissed.

"Stop talking, Sasuke. If you can't tell us in words, use your body," Sakura challenged, voice somehow…_hollow_. Like it was echoing up from some place deep inside her.

Naruto had seen her wear a mask of strength in the past, in the Forest of Death when events had begun to spiral into their current mess, but it had been brittle, skin deep. He'd always been able to smell her fear, waiting just beneath the surface, though he'd never told her. When he was younger, Naruto had always assumed others perceived the world like he did—a world that wasn't only to be seen, but also smelled. It wasn't something he thought about, it just was.

Later he would discover the existence of the Kyuubi, the demon locked within his body that he owed his advanced senses to and he would hate them for a while, but back in the day it had just been how he had lived. The fox demon's instinct for danger had saved his hide more than once. But ever since he'd come back from his journey with Jiraiya Naruto had been picking up strange signals from Sakura.

Most times she was the Sakura he'd loved, warm and sparkling, who was also the ninja-Sakura that'd showed up after the events that had shaken them all. In that way, she'd grown but hadn't really _changed_, not in the way that Sasuke had. What made her Sakura was still there, the fluffy pink bits now protected by the skills to back up her kunoichi pride.

And then there were times, like now, when there was nothing pink at all about Sakura. Just something cold and hard, smooth and dark, like razor wire. He'd seen it when she'd beaten Sasuke for the first time, had felt a flicker of unease as he'd caught glimpses of their battle. And afterwards. Naruto didn't doubt easily, but there had been that question—_Will she stop? _

It was an unnerving feeling, like the person looking out of those still green eyes wasn't Sakura at all.

Then there was little time for reflection or deep thought as Sakura darted forward, at the same moment Sasuke moved to strike and Naruto allowed the Kyuubi's chakra to flare brightly.

Everything was flashing steel, the shriek of lightning, and the vortex howl of Rasengan for an impossibly long moment that felt like a lifetime. It was moments like this that made him scoff at all the complex calculations they made them memorize in the Academy. There wasn't time to calculate angle or wind speed, or anything stupid like that. Everything came down to instinct and practice.

Here was sensing Sasuke's dumb shuriken jutsu, there was praying that none of Sakura's damn poison-soaked weapons nicked him by mistake, though with the Kyuubi bleeding through his veins, it might not matter.

When the hydra form disappeared, Naruto knew they were in trouble, sensed it meant that Sasuke had a handle on his new powers. He wasn't disappointed. Even with the demon, his moments were almost impossible to follow. But he didn't really what that really _meant_ until Sasuke flashed in front of him, locking crimson eyes with crimson.

Locked within a familiar dark room, he watched with dawning horror as Sasuke followed him there, speaking to the fox, then _sending it back into its cage._

"Sorry, Naruto," the darkly familiar voice said with a sneer that pulled painted lips away from fangs, "but you'll have to find a new trick."

Then they were back and that red chakra, the one almost as familiar as his own, was gone, gone, gone. "What did you do, Sasuke?"

The winged teenager chuckled and Naruto suddenly had the strangest thought that maybe Orochimaru had taken the time to teach his protégé to laugh. "What? Is that it? You can't beat me now, Naruto. Give up and go home. Or I can kill you, here and now."

From outside the personal bubble he hadn't realized they'd created, he heard a small amused noise from Sakura. "Kami, you're both idiots."

"In a hurry to die, Sa-ku-ra?" Sasuke mocked.

"All you do is talk and talk, Sa-su-ke." Sakura said as she smoothly fanned a handful of senbon. Senbon that Sasuke would only dodge and then she would barely avoid a spinning kick to her side that would have shattered ribs and bruised organs.

Naruto performed his signature shadow clone jutsu, coming at Sasuke from both sides, but both were dispelled in a cloud of smoke as Sasuke slammed his hand into the ground, proving that he didn't need his stupid sword for the modified Chidori to work. _Damn you, Kakashi-sensei,_ Naruto growled darkly as he flipped through the hand seals to make more clones.

-X-X-X-

As Naruto continued to throw more clones at their problem, Sakura came to a grim realization. Naruto wasn't quite Sasuke's equal. He had the raw power, but none of the Uchiha's execution. Most of his battles were won with overwhelming, brutal force. But whatever Sasuke had done earlier seemed to have cut off his demonic chakra entirely.

Skill wise, Sakura herself was Sasuke's superior. Sasuke had taken two or three basic techniques and honed them to a fine point, in the same way that Naruto depended on replication and Rasengan. Circumstances had forced Sakura to learn a wider variety of techniques that weren't so dependent on elemental ninjutsu. And she had his chokuto, which limited him more than he would likely admit. But there was a reason her battle technique leaned heavily on an assassin's skill, rather than a brawler's. It was the same reason she _couldn't_ depend on elemental ninjutsu.

Baldly stated, Sakura lacked the sheer volume of chakra it would require. By the simple fortune of belonging to the Uchiha clan, Sasuke already had the advantage on her there. Which meant before the boy's reserves would even begin to run dry, Sakura could be dead of chakra exhaustion.

By and large, she could circumvent the problem by pre-preparing jutsu like many of her Trap Art skills and depending upon her taijutsu, but as she flashed out of the way of a barrage of fire balls, she didn't know if she could compete with heredity. When Sasuke was suddenly in front of her, drawing a hot line across the top of her shoulder with one of the kunai they'd given him so he could defend himself, she knew then.

Maybe it was different for Sasuke and Naruto, but Sakura always knew, within the first thirty seconds or so, her chances in a battle.

She was going to lose.

Because she wouldn't kill him, she would lose. The damn enzyme process that caused the physical transformation of his second state curse seal would burn through her poisons like they were water.

The realization made her burn with shame and anger, even as she flicked a kunai at him, refusing to draw his sword, unwilling to close the distance where his speed would give him the upper hand.

She wasn't like Naruto, could not pour out her heart and soul against impossible odds. Paper-ninja, thinking-ninja, whatever she called herself, it sounded suspiciously like _coward _in her head.

_Show your opponent only the skill you need to win. _At some point, after Sasuke had left, after Naruto had left, after Kakashi had left, it had become the defining feature of her style. So she killed before her enemy even realized she was there. Fair combat could be left to people far stronger and more idealistic than her.

Those words didn't belong to Orochimaru or Madara. They belonged to her father.

She was retreating inside her head, she realized, well-honed battle instinct moving her body even as her mind turned away from the losing battle. She hadn't lost a battle, a real and true to the death battle, for years now. Maybe Sasori wasn't the only one overconfident.

And yet, and yet, she couldn't help but wish it was only she and Sasuke, because then she didn't have to take care not to damage her ally with her truly catastrophic jutsus, didn't have to listen to the sound of Naruto's heart breaking again.

Closing her eyes, because the information that could be processed by them was slower than the speed Sasuke was moving, she blocked the two vital strikes Sasuke made to her liver and the vulnerable column of her neck, but in return allowed herself to be cut open, deep stab wounds opening low on her back, high on her dominant shoulder, and a long gaping wound over her sternum.

Open her eyes narrowly, she looked into hell-red eyes, Sasuke close enough that she could lean forward and steal a kiss. He didn't have a kunai pressed to her throat, but it was in his hand, and for Sasuke that meant it might as well be.

He hadn't escaped from her totally undamaged, either. She'd managed to stomp down on one foot with her chakra-enhanced strength, shattering the fragile bones. A good medic-nin could make sure he walked without a limp, but for now he was poised on a single foot like a dark crane.

Sakura tentatively probed her chest wound, staining her pale skin with her own blood. An ironic smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "So, Uchiha, looks like you finally figured out the fastest way to a girl's heart is through a few inches of bone and muscle. Well done."

"You seem pretty calm for someone who's losing." Sakura glanced out of the corner of her eye at Naruto, who she hadn't noticed was standing stiff and still, looking blankly off into space.

"Losing?" Sakura smiled, buoyed up by Madara's silent strength. "I don't think _you _understand, Sasuke. I'm setting you free."

"That isn't what it looks like to me," Sasuke rumbled.

"Turns out, Uchiha, those eyes aren't infallible. But even if you win here, I'll be seeing you again soon. I'm not giving your sword back, either," she added petulantly.

One dark brow, more navy than black, rose. "What makes you think you can stop me?"

"Because you're a fool who believes that he will find his brother quicker on his own than with the full resources of a shinobi village at his disposal and the most convenient bait on the planet standing next to him." Dropping low and trying to sweep his one good leg out from under him forced Sasuke to retreat, which gave her time to run through the handsigns in a blur that she hoped he wouldn't catch. "Trap Art," she intoned, "Will-o-wisp's Bog."

From around her feet, fog began to roll out, curtaining the ground and swelling into the air, concealing the space between them. The fog was real, elemental ninjutsu, but the forest with its dark trees with knotted, exposed roots was genjutsu, layered carefully around over the ninjutsu elements. With a final push of chakra and the last sequence of handsigns, a globe-like light flickered into existence beside her. More bobbed in the distance, like old-fashioned lanterns. Most of the Will-o-wisp's Bog was just a disorienting genjutsu. But if you were foolish enough to follow the lights or unlucky enough to place your feet wrong, there were deep pits of muddy water.

Sakura's hand trembled as she clenched it. It was such a complex jutsu that the expenditure of chakra made it impractical for most use, but when she'd used it with Neji, she'd found that the way the ninjutsu and genjutsu were intertwined meant that even with his doujutsu, it took him much longer than normal to peer through the mess and find her chakra.

Sasuke had always been terrible at chakra sensing. He had a natural advantage against genjutsu, but if he didn't peel away all the layers, he still wouldn't be able to find her as she doused her signature and presence.

A jutsu with almost sixty handsigns, broken into sequences of six or seven signs that worked upon each other, executed in less than twenty seconds. No one would ever be able to tell her she hadn't come into ANBU honestly.

Walking silently through what appeared to be ankle-deep water, Sakura sought out Naruto, who still hadn't emerged from his own genjutsu. Most jutsu like this usually only worked on an opponent's senses, but Sakura had, in her career, met men who could tell instantly by watching an enemy's movement what was real and what was not. People tended to figure out jutsu quickly if you were standing where they perceived a tree or a river. Though Will-o-wisp's Bog was not a subtle jutsu. The trick was to figure out how much was real, before it drowned you or Sakura struck.

Gathering the unresisting Naruto, she struck out across her jutsu, dropping back down into the cavern where Sai and Kakashi were waiting with a red-haired female ninja who seemed quite distressed.

"Done already, hag?" Sai asked.

The kunoichi, who Sakura assumed was the promised medic, wrung her hands worriedly and pushed her thick-framed glasses further up her nose. "Is Sasuke-kun alright?" she demanded, which made a pink brow raise.

"We're retreating. I'll take responsibility."

"Why?" Sai asked her without any censure, which would have been the case had Naruto or Kakashi been conscious.

"Because a good general knows when to retreat," Sakura replied smoothly, but then she fumbled over the silence at the end of the words, because those weren't _her _words at all.

Her hands, which held Naruto princess-style, dug tightly into his jumpsuit. _I could have beaten him. I would have beaten him. Why did I think…? _

But her body continued without her, as she flopped Naruto over one shoulder, commanding Sai to take Kakashi. She met the eyes of the girl, looking on at her with unabashed surprise. "Thanks for your services. Sasuke should still be up there. Watch out for the bog," her body told the redhead flatly.

_Madara!_ Sakura howled down into the darkness, beyond which she knew there was a sunlit garden and a man in red armor, even now influencing her body and actions more directly than Orochimaru had ever managed while she was conscious.

_Because a good general knows when to retreat, _Madara repeated. _If you continue down that path, you will kill Uchiha Sasuke. And if he dies by your hand, Uchiha Itachi will never forgive you. _

_Then this is all…?_

_A plan. I gave you a suggestion and you did not heed me. _And that dark voice would say no more, not even when they had left the base far behind them and Naruto regained consciousness.

_I hope you're hearing this, _Sakura scowled as Naruto railed at her for her decision. "Why did you do it, Sakura-chan?" he asked heavily, at last.

Sakura sighed heavily and internally wondered at her lack of distress at Madara's manipulations. Once, three years ago, she had been outraged at Orochimaru for his little interferences, but now it seemed as if she couldn't hold anything against that man. Was it infatuation? Obsession? Or was this her mind's way of telling her that she what she had already known.

"If you break a bird's wings and put it in a cage, it might sing for you, but in its heart, it will never thank you for putting it there," Sakura replied. "I can break his bones and drag Sasuke back to Konoha a hundred times, but if he doesn't want to be there, does it mean anything?" Her words had grown more heated, until the last word came out as a roar that had Naruto wide-eyed and Kakashi shifting uneasily in his chakra-drained sleep.

"We'll finish raiding the bases Sasuke told us about, then we'll return to Konoha," she told him.

"Hai, taichou," Sai murmured, while Naruto just gaped at her.

They made camp early, seeing no point in rushing with Kakashi down for the time being. Just before dawn, Sakura woke, jade eyes snapping open as Sai pulled back the flap of the tent. Stepping easily over Naruto's sprawled body that had somehow managed to almost block the entrance, she looked at the dark-eyed boy expectantly.

He pointed out into the darkness. Following his direction, she extended her senses until she brushed upon a familiar chakra signature. One that wasn't moving forward, but was well within sensing range.

"Neji?" Sakura muttered. Casting a glance into the tent, where Naruto was snoring loud enough to alert every shinobi within a five hundred foot radius and Kakashi was in his post-Sharingan coma, she flashed off into the darkness, closely shadowed by Sai. "What's wrong?" she demanded even as her feet touched down on the dry and brittle grass that was the only thing besides scraggly scrub trees that grew on this forsaken plain.

Neji's expression, always serious, was more somber than usual. "Danzou has left the village. Tsunade-sama sent me to tell you."

For a moment, Sakura could have sworn her heart stopped, her lungs didn't draw breath, and even the damn cicadas went still. "Dammit, dammit," she cursed under her breath, biting down on her thumb like she was about to do a summons. "Tell me everything."

_Everything _was apparently a relative term. The elders had agreed to strip him of power, but before the notice could be delivered, he had left. And until that piece of paper was in his hands, formally he still held power within the village. No one knew where he was.

Neji cleared his throat and reached into his pack. "Tsunade also gave me this," he said quietly, pulling out a familiar ceramic mask, blank and unfinished.

Despite the situation, Sakura couldn't help the soft smile that bloomed on her face. Making ANBU had been a dream that had come late to her, but for Neji, he'd always aimed for the highest ranks. "Congratulations," she said.

Even in the half-light before dawn, Sakura could see clearly Neji's answering smile and for reasons she didn't understand, the tips of her ears burned. "Congratulations yourself, Haruno-taichou."

Sai saved her from an awkward giggle that was about to escape her lips, for which she was grateful. "This means you need only the last member, hag."

"Mm-hm." Sakura cast her eyes back to the camp she had just left. Danzou was forcing her hand, making her act more quickly than she liked. Perhaps it really was for the best that Sasuke had been jettisoned like so much useless baggage. Something inside her flinched at the thought, but it was a small something. "Just Genbu is left, Suzaku, Seiryuu. Sai-chan, would you mind taking care of Neji's mask?"

Even as he handed off the mask remarkably willingly to this new ninja that he barely knew, Neji asked, "And who is this last member?"

"The hag says it's a surprise," Sai replied with that unnerving smile of his.

"It was a surprise yesterday, but it looks like you'll need to know sooner than I anticipated," Sakura admitted. "My last choice for my ANBU squad it Uchiha Itachi."

If she had been working with Naruto, she would have expected shouting, but Sai looked as if he was considering the idea carefully and Neji only looked thoughtful. At her inquiring glance, he answered, "I trust your judgment, Sakura."

In that moment, Sasuke could have shoved Chidori through her chest and it might have gone unnoticed. _I trust your judgment. _Four little words. It wasn't as if he'd never deferred to her before. There were plenty of missions in their past where she had taken the lead. But for him to say that, when she'd openly declared she was adding one of the village's top ten most reviled and feared missing-nin's to their team, he hadn't missed a beat. Not because he would blindly follow. She could already read the question in his eyes. But that he knew, trusted, _believed_ instinctively that she had good, solid reasons for suggesting it.

For someone whose interior work was slowly shattering, it meant the world.

Neji and Sai both listened intently as she explained what had been happening beneath the surface of Konohagakure for years now, though she left out her own involvement with Root. Some things could never be said aloud, some only waited for the right time. Sakura didn't know which her experience was, but she knew that now wasn't it.

"So," Neji said slowly at last, "he sacrificed himself and his clan, all for his village."

"Yes." But there was something on his face that he was unsatisfied, so she asked, "What's wrong."

His pearlescent eyes met hers with worry. "If we bring him back, his clan's plan will be exposed. To me…if I had given up so much for my village, I would want them to at least honor the memory of my clan. He kept it intact, for Sasuke's sake."

"Then we're going to ask him, for once in his life, to be a little selfish. If he still cares about Sasuke's wellbeing, he'll come home."

Sakura glanced up and noticed that the other two shinobi were staring at her. "What?" she asked.

"When you actually speak to Itachi-san, you might want to rephrase that."

At Sakura's blank stare, it was Sai who spoke up. "He means, ugly, say it less like you're writing a ransom note."

The thought made Sakura laugh, a surprisingly light-hearted sound. Stretching her arms above her head and cracking her vertebrae very satisfactorily, Sakura led the way back to camp, where Naruto was still snoring his way through the sunrise. Crouching down next to him, Sakura resisted the childish urge to prod him awake. "Naruto, hey Naruto!" she called.

Flopping over sleeping, one blue eye peered blearily at her. "Sa-ku—," his greeting was mangled as he yawned hugely. "What's up?" he asked. Then, jerking upright suddenly, "Is something wrong?"

Sakura assessed him with her eyes, from his rumpled jumpsuit to the blond hair that was standing up more crazily than normal. "You still want to go after him, don't you?" she asked without preamble.

"Yeah," he answered instantly, earnestly. "Maybe you didn't see, Sakura, but he was thinking of staying, he really was!" he protested, though she hadn't spoken. "We were so close."

Sakura sighed fondly, reaching out to poke him in the forehead. "Ba-ka," she intoned. "But you just can't help yourself, Naruto, and no one can argue with your results. So, here's the deal. I am leaving with Neji and Sai-chan. You'll stay with Kakashi. When he wakes up, if you can convince him, you can go after Sasuke."

"But where are _you _going, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked with confusion.

"I have another mission, one that just got priority."

There was something knowing in Naruto's eyes. "You aren't sure about bringing Sasuke back anymore."

Sakura bit her bottom lip. "All I know, Naruto, is that if try again, I might kill him."

"But this time, Sasuke…" his words trailed off and his eyes lingered on her bandaged wounds.

Her lips twisted unhappily. "Yeah. But this was a head-on battle. That's not my style." And there was an interfering bastard _lodged in her brain. _

Naruto's warm hands, larger than she had thought they would be, hard and calloused but strangely smooth, were suddenly clasping her forearms. "Don't get lost," he told her forcefully. "If you can't find your way anymore, _come home_," he ordered.

Sakura's answering smile was shaky. "Like I won't beat you back."

Naruto snorted, letting her go. "Just because you outrank me doesn't mean you can win against me."

"When we get back to Konohagakure, I'll prove you wrong," she promised. And those would be the last words they would exchange for some time.

-X-X-X-

Sakura glanced at the maps pinned to the wall of their makeshift base. Akatsuki weren't that difficult to track, when it came down to it. They wore those flashy cloaks and walked without fear among the general populace, so rumors of their passing were easy to verify. With skills like theirs, subtlety became an unnecessary trait.

Sitting cross-legged behind her on one of the two double beds in the hotel room, Sai was putting the finishing touches on his Seiryuu mask, having already completed Suzaku.

"Have you decided how you want to approach him, Haruno-taichou?" Neji asked. It amused her to have him call her that and she knew it reminded both of them of their first mission together, when they'd seemed a lifetime younger.

"Yes," Sakura answered shortly. She knew her boys had been wondering why they didn't just intercept their target on one of his missions, but Sakura was too careful to do that. She'd been paying careful attention to the kind of missions each pair in the Akatsuki took. Surprisingly enough, bodyguard missions, which were tedious but paid well, seemed to be the specialty of the Uchiha and Hoshigaki pair.

"Sai-chan, when you're finished with that, I want you to draft a letter."

A dark brow rose as he waited for her to complete her thought.

"A request. I feel that I'm in terrible danger," she said as she traced a line from their current location to Konoha, where she wondered how the restructuring was proceeding, if it could proceed at all without Danzou's political elimination. "I'll want to hire a bodyguard."

A/N: It's rather short, but I don't want to start the bad habit of lots of filler content between story arcs. Of which there are two left. Next chapter officially begins the Itachi retrieval arc, so look forward to it. And, no, I don't know if the canon-Akastuki specialized in missions, but it really doesn't seem like many of the others have personalities suited for bodyguard work, does it? I can just imagine Sasori being forced to wait on some hime to get dressed.


	25. The Tale of the Hime

Disclaimer: I don't even have any OCs in this story, so nothing belongs to me, except the plot.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-five-

The Tale of the Hime

She had hoped, somehow, to avoid this. Was it strange to wish to be in the bleakest desert imaginable, rather than a garden in which flowers from all seasons were in bloom? But it wasn't the setting. No, it was the man who sat across from her, a shallow dish of sake held at chest height, interrupted in its journey to his lips.

There was never anyone other than Haku in the Wastes of Despair, just Amanozako's heavy chains threading between the mindscapes. And Haku, even if he had not died so young on that bridge in Wave, would never project such intensity as Madara, whose simplest movements were still like violence, purposeful and direct.

She never saw any of the other planes now. It was like this garden was a black hole, drawing everything down into its depths. Or, rather, not the garden, but the man with the hellred eyes who sometimes made her feel as if she could crush the world beneath her thumb and at others made her feel like an uncomfortable girl on an arranged date.

"I haven't felt Amanozako since you showed up," Sakura said suddenly. "Why is that?" Because it was rather counter-intuitive, now that she thought about it. She had been able to feel Amanozako long after she had been sealed in the First Kingdom, yet here in the third she was silent.

Without taking a drink, Madara returned the sake dish to the table. "Because I am greater than either Orochimaru or Haku. I am a more cohesive personality, almost as dominant in this body as the original. But I have more control, which is why Amanozako's howls cannot be heard in this garden." He took in all their surroundings with an expansive wave of his hand, like a lord in his manor or a general on his battlefield.

Sakura was rather unnerved. _Almost as dominant as the original? _Well, that might explain his ability to go tramping about in her body like she was possessed.

"Where in the world do all of you come from?" Sakura muttered sullenly, taking a cautious sip of her own rice wine. She would have preferred tea, as always, but the table had already been set when she'd fallen through her perfectly pleasant dream into the Garden of Ruin.

"Your subconscious gives us shape. _You_ choose me to be here, so all responsibility is upon your shoulders," Madara told her. "But you are not here because you desire knowledge. Your heart falters—you fear your plans will fail."

Sakura grimaced. It was impossible to truly hide things in her mind. "It is dangerous, doing something like this to Akatsuki."

"You make them sound like they are dark gods. They are only shinobi and will die as easily as any man."

"Sasori wouldn't have. And there are reports that make others among them out to be immortal."

"Immortal is not invulnerable. Even gods can be killed."

Yes, she could see where she might want this man's confidence, his easy and overwhelming power. Just as she had needed Orochimaru's ruthlessness and Haku's unflinching loyalty.

"Then I will succeed?"

She couldn't help but notice that his lashes were dark and thick or that his hair, rather than looking disheveled, reminded her of a lion's mane, his body held with that kind of feline grace. She had always had a weakness for Uchiha men, it seemed. They all exuded a kind of power that Sakura, weak and helpless and lost, had hungered for as a child. Still hungered for.

"We will succeed," Madara promised her. "What cannot be won with strength can be stolen with cunning."

Sakura chuckled. "You know, Naruto or Sasuke might call that cowardice."

"You are a _ninja_, not a samurai. You do not follow bushido. You do not lay siege to the fortress, you poison the river. Any who are not willing to do this are fools."

Her smiled was a little crooked. "Once, I thought I would be strong enough that I could be like them," she confided. "Like Naruto and Sasuke, and even Neji, who can face others head-on, straight-up. But I guess I'm not suited for it."

A dark brow rose. "I will never understand why you are disappointed with yourself for being the better ninja."

"Just that little childish wish for recognition, maybe. It's just, they all seem so _big_, larger than life, and yet no one a generation or two from now will know half of what I've done for my village. Less than that, maybe, when Naruto becomes Hokage. He's not like Tsunade-shishou. He's never really known war and I hope he never finds out what it is to compromise on his morals to accomplish something."

"You will know and your village will live on in prosperity. What more do you wish?" he challenged her.

"For a man who once tried to conquer Konohagakure, you give strange advice," Sakura commented.

The small, strange smile that moved his lips made Sakura's heart skip a beat. He took a drink. "Perhaps," he allowed. Sharingan eyes caught hers. "Now go. For Konohagakure, you cannot fail."

Even as the nine-tailed beast burst through the trees and her world was eaten up by flame, she murmured, "For Konoha."

Sakura woke on a futon in a darkened room. Perhaps five feet to her right, she heard the nearly inaudible sound of Neji's breathing. Sai hadn't come to this town with them. His social awkwardness was a liability they couldn't afford in this ruse. But he had an equally important part to play. Rising, she looked fondly over at her best partner, taking in the way his deep brown hair spread over his pillow and how at peace he looked in sleep.

Even as she looked, his eyes opened briefly, opalescent orbs looking to her with mingled wariness and the confusion of sleep, but when he saw it was only her, his breathing evened out again.

_Time to take a bath_, she thought after a moment. _Today, we take destiny into our own hands. _

Neji was awake by the time she returned, her skin flushed and her body smelling of scented oils. Attendants had brought breakfast, which she polished off readily. Then began the real preparations. On went layer after layer of kimono, Neji helping her to dress, and then one of the onsen girls was called in to help her with her hair.

Of 'Sakura' only Neji's beautiful hairpin remained, for courage. Before they had come, Sakura had died her hair sleekest and purest black, so the woman she saw in the small oval mirror was a stranger, a pampered hime whose long sleeves covered her hands demurely and whose only defense was a small knife slipped between the layers of her attire, the case so enameled and the hilt so gilded as to make it look more like decoration than a weapon.

Over the styled hair went a hat, slightly reminiscent of the common rice worker's headgear, but tacked to the brim was a gauzy silk veil that completely obscured her features. As she dressed, she shed layers of her personality like they were her ninja clothes, focusing on the persona of Kin, who was high-spirited, willful, and had been raised to wealth.

As the door slid back open and Neji stepped in, she glanced over not to see the familiar shinobi but a samurai, Tamotsu, Kin's faithful and long-suffering retainer. The retainer who, years ago, had lost his eyes for her, which was why those dead eyes were kept closed and hidden behind a black strip of cloth. The handicap was intended to not only hide his distinctive doujutsu, but also to change the way he moved. Neji was skilled enough at fighting blinded to mock a high-class samurai, but he wouldn't, even in the heat of battle, forget and move as the ninja he was.

His long hair, usually tied low at his neck, had been pulled into the high horsetail and he wore the traditional gi and hakama in muted, earthy colors. By contrast, Kin wore the white of mourning on the outermost layer, over jewel-toned silks. Which made her a blinding target and meant she had to be very careful to keep the kimono clean. But it was all part of the letter that had been sent when she had made her request.

Her mother, a woman Kin hadn't particularly cared for, had died as part of a coup within her family. Her father had sent her to a relative's for safety until he could put down the rebellion, but Kin, determined to have her own way, had left that sanctuary and was now being hunted by another relative, who had yet to show his face but was sending bands of mercenaries and the occasional ninja at her.

It was a common enough story in the cut-throat world of the merchant classes, where so much money in the balance made people do things they wouldn't normally even contemplate. Sakura had heard stories of it occasionally from her mother.

Rising gracefully, the hems of her kimono barely brushed her legs as she made tiny, dainty steps that were an exercise in frustration as she made her slow way to the public room, where they had arranged to meet the shinobi whom she was hiring on a two-week contract as she made her way back to her home in Fire country. Which wasn't as suspicious as it might sound, given that the location and the temperate climate, as well as the protection of a peaceful Hidden Village, made Fire a hub of commerce.

The two Akatsuki were already waiting for them. Both rose as Kin made her slow journey to their table, bowing briefly to her. Itachi was all professionalism as he asked, "You asked for a contract, Kin-sama?"

Kin giggled, a sleeve coming up to cover her face, even though the veil did the job serviceably. "Oh, yes. I want you to take me back home. Tou-sama is such a worrywart!" she said in exasperation. "Tamotsu could do it, but uncle _insisted. _He wouldn't let me leave until I promised."

Itachi's dark eyes traveled assessingly to Neji, who didn't react to his gaze upon him, but his hand had rested easily on the hilt of his katana since they had emerged from the hallway.

"And you chose Akatsuki…?"

Kin giggled again. "Because you're famous, of course. Cousin Yutaka wouldn't be silly enough to attack with _you _protecting me."

"I see," Itachi murmured. "We are at your service, then. I understand you have already finalized and paid your contract up-front?"

"Yes," Kin said, sitting down gracefully, like a lily blooming. One of the attendants hurried to her and took her order. "I don't anticipate any dissatisfaction."

The tea arrived, but rather than having it served in the house's cups, another attendant brought a wooden box. The cups inside were silver. "Poison," she chirruped brightly. "Nasty stuff, but cowardly cousin Yutaka can't help himself. So now I always drink from silver cups."

"Is that so, ojou-chan?" Kisame asked with a toothy grin.

Kin beamed at him. "Yes. You would be Hoshigaki-san, then?"

Itachi bowed. "Forgive my rudeness. I am Uchiha Itachi and this is my partner, Hoshigaki Kisame."

"I am sure it will be a pleasure."

And so their journey went, the two stoic ninja often lingering a few steps behind as the high-spirited Kin nattered on to Kisame, who took her in stride.

Itachi commented on it to Tamotsu, watching his face curiously for his reaction. He had sensed that something did not ring quite true about this assignment, but that was common for a mission assigned to the Akatsuki. Part of a ninja's job was not to question their client too deeply. So long as they were paid and the objective accomplished, that was where their concern ended.

However, Itachi's suspicion had more to do with the relationship between hime and retainer than any sense of deception about her situation. "Most of our clients are…hesitant around Kisame. Your hime seems to enjoy his company."

A faint smile crossed the lips of the samurai. "Kin-sama has only one phobia. Jellyfish."

"Jellyfish?"

"The invisible assassins of the ocean, she says," Tamotsu chuckled.

"Hn."

Their trip was interrupted with almost clockwork regularity by bands of mercenaries and occasionally some truly vicious missing-nin. Neji privately thought that Sai was having entirely too much fun with his part of the mission budget. He, Neji, didn't even know where one might hire these sort of thugs, not to mention the unaffiliated talent he'd managed to acquire. He could foresee a bright future for the Root shinobi if he was ever forced to defect.

They had come to the border of Fire without incident and were wiling away the time at a village that specialized in metalwork. Kin had already acquired a few choice bangles with Kisame lurking by her side. Kin preferred to be accompanied by the hulking shinobi, who warded off all but the most intrusive shop persons and men. When accompanied by the attractive and faintly androgynous Itachi and Tamotsu, men and women flocked like vultures around fresh prey.

Kisame leaned against the side of another building, waiting for their flighty hime to emerge. She wasn't as bad as some of the birds he'd been sent to watch, as she wasn't so much stupid as wildly inconstant. Nothing held her attention for long. "Kisame-san!" came the familiar call and he straightened. "Kisame-san, I have a surprise!"

"What's that, ojou-chan?"

"Come on, come on!" she chirruped enthusiastically.

"Where are we going?" he asked, falling beside her.

Kin fairly bounced off, leading him outside the village. A blue brow rose in question. "Don't you think Itachi and your guard should be with us?"

"Nu-uh," she protested childishly. The reserved and dignified hime they had first met had slowly revealed an inner childishness that had bubbled up as their journey progressed, as if being out from the eyes of her elders had allowed her to extend her wings.

They continued until they reached a small clearing. "This will do," Kin declared. "Tada!" From the depths of her sleeves she pulled two of her silver cups and two bottles of sake.

"Naughty little ojou-chan," Kisame observed.

"It's a celebration of a job well done," Kin said seriously. "We're almost at tou-sama's house. So this is my gesture of appreciation," she raised the two bottles of sake. "Please accept it."

Kisame chuckled. "Well, never let it be said I turned down good sake."

Kin beamed and arranged herself on the grass, pouring the first glasses. "What is it you're supposed to say when you drink alcohol?" she asked as she held her wide sleeves carefully to one side, like she was pouring a cup of tea.

"Kampai," he answered as he accepted.

"Then, kampai!" she cheered, clicking the glasses delicately together with a metallic ring.

Kin removed her hat and gingerly took a sip, grimacing. "Kami that's awful."

"That's not how you drink sake," he said and knocked it back in one gulp.

A black brow rose on her wide forehead. Then, as if steeling herself, she stared down into the glass and then followed his lead. Kisame grinned toothily as she coughed. "Still bad," she said weakly.

"It gets better," he promised, handing back in glass for a refill. With his body size, it would take a lot more than two bottles of sake to get him drunk enough to lose a fight, because by that point he would be in a coma.

The hime surprised him when she met his determination with her own, pouring herself a second drink, though she looked at it like it was a snake about to bite her. "If you don't like it, don't drink it," he advised.

"No, no, I'm fine," she protested. Her stubbornness was amusing.

She knocked back the second glass too, but sipped at her third, carefully attentive to Kisame's cup. He didn't realize what was happening until the glass slipped from his hand and his body tipped forward. Kin moved like she would embrace him, arms winding around his neck, and she whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Kisame-san." And then her gilded knife severed his spinal cord before he could flare his chakra and purge the poison from his system. "For trusting me, arigatou."

Then, without wasting another moment, Sakura took a good grasp of his short hair and began to cut his head from his body, like severing a limb from an animal for cooking. Blood spouted, speckling red flowers on her outermost kimono of purest white. "Silver doesn't reveal every poison," she told him softly. "And you can't trust the poison will affect your opponent, letting me take the first drink like that."

Throwing the head to one side, Sakura purged herself of as much undigested sake as she could, heaving until her ribs hurt. All the same, her head ached a little. Standing, she turned back to Kisame's body. "You surprised me though, Kisame-san. Less than half of what you drank would have killed a normal human. It was a paralytic and still, I think if I had been slower, you might have fought me anyway. What kind of a monster were you?" she demanded. "It doesn't matter now, though."

She slipped the ring off his finger and hid it in her kimono. Biting her thumb, Sakura ran through the familiar seals. The tiger that appeared was about twice the size of a horse, the pelt between the black stripes a golden yellow. Hooped piercings were in his ears, which twitched as he looked at her. "Sakura," he rumbled pleasantly.

She bowed. "Subaru Boshi, it's been some time."

"Polite. I like that," he purred as he drew near her, curling his body around her. "And soaked with the blood of your enemies. Even better. You have been busy since I smelled you last. You need a body disposed of, then?"

"If you don't mind, Subaru Boshi."

The great tiger walked over to the body, smelling the blood. "Always poison with you, Sakura. It's no wonder Kagasuki favors you."

"You're immune to poison," Sakura pointed out.

The tiger snorted. "Ikadakimasu," he growled as he turned upon the body, strong claws holding Kisame's torso down as he bit down on his arm and with a violent twist of his head tore it from the body.The wet sound of meat and the crack of bone followed as Sakura watched him systematically consume the blue-haired nin, saving the head for last. She didn't avert her eyes from the shinobi who had faithfully protected her for the last two weeks as several hundred pounds of force were brought to bear between the pointed teeth. "Tasted like fish," Subaru said when he had finished. "Peculiar, for a human. Now you owe me a favor, Sakura."

"What would you like, Subaru?" she asked, not quite trusting the tiger's smile.

"Your kimono. The one with all the blood," he said.

This time it was Sakura's turn to snort. "You scent pervert," she growled as she untied the obi so she could offer him the outermost layer. That was always Subaru's demand. A piece of clothing that smelled like her. Strange, but reasonable, as he never really seemed interested in the sight of her stripping. It was the scent that mattered and even now as she handed the kimono over, he buried his nose in it before he allowed her to drape it over his back like a saddle blanket.

She was surprised when he leaned forward and that big, rough tongue swiped across her face, leaving a warm trail of saliva. "Gross!" she protested.

The big cat's smile only got larger. "Summon me again soon, Sakura." And with a twitch of his tail, the tiger disappeared as quickly as he had come.

Swiping angrily at her face, Sakura went ahead and stripped off all the layers, leaving herself only in panties. Channeling her chakra, she was pleased to note when Sai's special ink appeared, curling across her belly in the shape of a bird. Touching her fingers to her skin, she channeled even more chakra into it, clumsily using Sai's specialized jutsu, watching as it peeled itself away and flapped up into the sky, disappearing quickly over the treetops. Presumably it would be able to locate the artist in short order and he would arrive with all of their weapons and supplies.

And clothes. Grimacing, Sakura redressed herself, discarding most of the layers. Now for the difficult part. As tempting as it was to try and poison Itachi and carry him back to Konoha like some kind of trophy, she had learned her lesson with Sasuke. He would choose to come or he would not.

Staring at Kisame's sword, the only remaining part of the once-great Mist-nin, she lingered, undecided. Sakura herself had no use for such a sword, but what happened if something dangerous like that fell into the hands of the enemy?

"Then that is fate," she decided abruptly, picking up the sword, nearly dropping it when it began to tug angrily at her chakra. Stabbing it deep into the ground, she left it. "You can take care of yourself, can't you?" she asked it wryly as she turned her back on the sword, which seemed to be writhing beneath its bandages.

Without another glance back, Sakura left the death spot of the Monster of the Mist.

-X-X-X-

She found Neji and Itachi sharing tea on the walkway outside the room they had taken for the day.

Itachi rose smoothly as he saw the disheveled state of her kimono and the absence of her guardian. "Were you attacked?" he asked. "Where is Kisame?"

"It's finished," she said with a sigh. Pouring herself a cup of tea, she breathed in the aroma with appreciation. It was a good matcha, a powdered green tea. She laid her hat to the side and smoothed out her hair self-consciously. "Sit down, Itachi-san," she commanded as she shot him a side-long glance. "Neji?" she asked the other boy.

Reaching up, Neji removed his blindfold and waited a moment before opening his eyes, revealing the distinctive eyes of the Hyuuga, eyes that Itachi could not fail to recognize.

It took him less than a moment for Itachi to put together all the pieces. "Kisame is dead."

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "Sit down," she said again, "You're not on the books for today."

The wary Uchiha did not resume his seat. Which made sense, Sakura supposed. Anyone strong enough to bring down Kisame would be a potential threat to him as well. "I did not sense his chakra."

"I wasn't dumb enough to let him use his chakra. He would have eaten me alive," Sakura muttered into her cup. "Please, sit," she offered irritably. "I have a proposition for you, Uchiha."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "I did not think Konoha shinobi would try to make a deal with a missing-nin."

"They wouldn't, not if they were good little shinobi, without Hokage-sama's permission. But if you want proof of that, you'll have to wait until the last member of our squad arrives."

"I did not sense anyone trailing us."

"He wasn't," Sakura said patiently. "His part was to hire the mercenaries. Dear cousin Yutaka. I think he had fun."

"Konoha shinobi do not usually split up their squad."

"If Sai-chan had been with us, you would've known from the moment he spoke just where he'd gotten his training. It couldn't be allowed."

Itachi's eyes narrowed even further, but they remained dark. "Your tactics are too unusual to be hunter-nin. And you are too skilled to be only jounin. What does ANBU want, if not to kill me?" he asked. "Are you here on Danzou's orders?"

"No. But you should know, that man is now loose. No one knows where he is."

Itachi finally sat, but it was a movement like a snake getting ready to strike. Or a mongoose, ready to kill the snake as it struck. "What has happened in Konoha?"

"Officially, you have been assigned to my squad," Sakura explained, staring into the still surface of her cooling tea. "Which makes you my responsibility. Your last orders have been rescinded. It's time to come back to Konoha."

"Preposterous." If Sakura didn't know better, she would almost think she had surprised the word out of him.

"Hokage-sama has made it very clear to the Elders that she feels they mishandled that situation. I am afraid, however, that they refuse to apologize for their actions."

Itachi sat very still next to her, but she resisted the urge to glance at him. No need to invite herself into the embrace of the Sharingan.

"I brought Sasuke back once," she said very softly. "Broke his bones and brought him home. But he left again. So that's why I am asking you. Uchiha Itachi, please return to Konoha. If you feel guilt, return and suffer the judgment of the people. If you do not, then come back and we will retrieve your brother for you before he destroys himself."

"Sasuke will continue to chase after me. And when his hate is enough, he will defeat me." Itachi said it as a statement of fact.

"You cannot forge a strong sword from inferior metal," Sakura said, but Madara roiled beneath her words suddenly. "When tested, it will only shatter."

"You presume to know him that well?"

"He was my teammate," Sakura said simply. "We all knew each other's weaknesses." Her last words were bitter and held a long history.

"What if I do not wish to return to Konoha?" Itachi asked after a long pause and Sakura closed her eyes.

"Then I leave, for now. But you should ask Sasuke. He'll tell you I'm persistent."

"And if I continue to say no?"

This time it was Sakura's turn to be silent. Because she knew what she would do.

"We are offering you a second chance," Neji said, speaking for the first time. "Please consider it properly."

Sakura chanced a glance at Itachi, but his face was unreadable. "I find that I cannot trust that this is not a trap," he said at last.

"Then wait," Neji told him. "Sakura has already sent for Sai. When he gets here, you can look over the documentation yourself." A tense silence fell. Then Neji spoke again, his voice a little rough and uncomfortable. "I once hated as Sasuke does," he admitted. "It consumed my life. And even though I didn't know it then, I was miserable. But it would have been worse if I could have acted on it. Because, even though that person might be dead, all that hate doesn't magically disappear, it just has nowhere left to go, except inward. If you let him kill you, you are sentencing Sasuke to death," he told Itachi baldly.

"But Sasuke's not the type to go quietly," Sakura whispered. "There will be…collateral damage. When he finds out the truth. That you killed his family on Konoha's orders."

"Just as you are the one who hurt him, you are the only one who can set him to rights," Neji said firmly.

Itachi looked over at them then and both were careful not to meet his eyes. "Not even Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sakura's lip twitched. "Maybe Naruto can and maybe Naruto can't. All the others, even if they didn't know it, they _wanted _to be fixed, to be healed. All Sasuke wants is to be broken."

"There is also something else you haven't considered," Sakura continued after a pause. "Danzou has disappeared. But when I went on the mission where we retrieved Sasuke, he gave me very specific orders. Kill him and bring back his eyes. I've worked under him for years and Sai-chan has given his entire life to that man. If there are people that can help you find him before he hunts down Sasuke, it's us."

Silence again. Sakura wondered if there were some magic words Naruto used to convince people to see reason. But no, it might not work. Because Itachi wasn't out of control like Gaara and his heart wouldn't be touched like Zabuza. Itachi was everything deliberate and planned in a ninja, like his parents at his birth had drawn out a chart to the perfect shinobi and followed it with diligence. She admired him so much it was almost painful, but she also wanted to stab him with a kunai for being predictably resistant to the idea of returning to the village that had once ordered him to kill his family.

"Do you resent Konoha?" she asked distantly as she turned over an idea in her head, like one might a rock. Underneath was a poisonous spider. "Is that why you're doing this? Sasuke will kill you, absolving you of your guilt, and then he will kill all of us and you will have your revenge from beyond the grave. Is it like that?"

"Clever," she said with admiration, "so very clever. To use your very own blood brother to do it. Yes, I could admire a man who could do that to his own kin. He must have loved you very much once, to hate you so much now. It's an extraordinary kind of vengeance. And planned so many years in advance. I wonder if I might someday equal you, Uchiha Itachi. But then, by the time that would happen, I would need a jutsu to raise the dead and your brother has already killed the only Sannin with that ability."

"Locked his soul inside his own, I think," Sakura imparted. "He'll have to be careful, though. He might hate you with everything he has, but Orochimaru has been looking for immortality for longer than he has been alive. That kind of obsession won't end just because he's put in a cage. Maybe I won't need to bring you back after all. _Orochimaru _wouldn't have any need to kill you, once he has Sasuke's eyes."

From the look on Neji's face, there must have been some sort of expression on Itachi's. But she wasn't finished yet.

"But if Orochimaru does take over, then Konoha would definitely order Sasuke's death. I could do it. I've never killed someone I once loved. It'll be a growing experience. Or would you prefer to do it? Your hands to end it all. Make a complete set, be the last Uchiha standing. That's the future, what might happen. Will you risk it, Itachi? Risk Sasuke? Or will you come to Konoha with me?"


	26. War and Peace

Disclaimer: …it's probably a good thing I don't own Naruto. If I did, the disproportionate number of men to women would quickly become the perfect excuse for reverse-harems.

A/N: Everyone continues to be awesome! Thanks so much for your continued interest and support in Five Kingdoms. I hope the latest chapter doesn't disappoint as we continue on the Itachi Retrieval Arc.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-Six-

War and Peace

Suffocation wasn't a new sensation to Uchiha Itachi. He hadn't been able to breathe well for years now. Sometimes, when it felt like he was all but drowning from the fluid in his lungs, he had a thought—_You'd better hurry, otouto, or my body will kill me before your hands take this life of mine. _

This was a similar sensation. A feeling of inevitable defeat that the Uchiha prodigy hadn't experienced for longer than he'd been ill. But there was something more than just the kunoichi's words that bothered him. There was something familiar in the cadence of her voice, the terrible rationalism that for a heartbeat had him questioning his own motives. The last time he had met someone like this, his entire clan had died.

Even the woman's partner seemed slightly hesitant at her approach, his Byakugan eyes focused on her rather than Itachi, which was a novel experience. _The level of trust in her skill…it's extraordinary. If she has earned the respect of the Hyuuga, then she is indeed to be feared. But, unfortunately for her, my death belongs to Sasuke. _

He was just about to tell her so, but something stopped him. A memory, of a man with dark hair and a darker heart who'd threatened everything Itachi held precious. He had assumed, because this girl was a Konoha ninja and a former teammate of his brother, that she would not harm Sasuke. But could he take that chance? Could he really give up this one change, small as it might be, for some measure of reconciliation?

Itachi was not naïve enough to believe his brother would ever forgive him for what he had done, even if he somehow learned of the orders that had prompted his actions. If anything, that might make Sasuke hate him more. But…

Itachi was not a creature who was often conflicted. His desires were straightforward and sharp as kunai, ready to cut down any obstacle that appeared in his path. Nothing had ever been able to distort his course, except _that man_ and now this girl. Implacable will, almost inhuman, almost seemed to radiate from them both.

The similarity was eerie and disturbing in ways he had no desire to contemplate.

"What do you want from me, kunoichi?" he demanded.

"Enough power to protect everything precious to me. Happiness for those I love. Perhaps, just a little bit of peace in this world. But for today I'll settle for you, Uchiha Itachi. Come back to Konohagakure with me. You'll be placed in my ANBU squad. You're not really suited for war, but the elders won't be satisfied with bringing you back only to let you lapse into retirement. There'll be a period of dormancy before you return to active duty, because healing is exhausting for both practitioner and patient. Tsunade-sama will see to you personally. I have no use for damaged weapons," she said coolly and the Hyuuga across the table made an almost infinitesimal flinch at her words, which told him this was not how she normally spoke.

_Not suited for war? _Itachi couldn't decided if it was an insult or a compliment, but no one—not his parents, his sensei, nor his enemies—had ever said such a thing to him before. "If you are trying to recruit me to your cause, should threats really be your path of choice?"

"There aren't threats. I am trying to be very honest with you, Uchiha-san. It is simply an unfortunate reality that makes my words harsh."

Itachi was silent. He remembered this kunoichi vaguely—she'd once fallen prey to his Tsukiyomi, but the girl who sat there drinking tea, Kisame's blood not yet dry on her hands, was hardly even the same person.

"If you worry for the reputation of your clan, I can arrange a scapegoat. After all, what ninja really wants to believe a single man could kill his entire clan, a clan with a highly developed bloodline, in a single night? They will be more than ready to believe that someone or a group of someone's killed the Uchiha. Technically, it wouldn't even be a lie. We shall say that you either defected from the shame of being unable to protect your clan or that you left chasing vengeance. There is, after all, a precedent for that," she said darkly, staring down into her tea as if she might see the future reflected in its surface.

"Sasuke would have provided testimony," Itachi reminded her.

Sakura scoffed. "_Sasuke _was very young and traumatized. He'd be more than vulnerable to genjutsu. Even after he awoke his Sharingan he was still fairly susceptible to it."

"You have thought this through very thoroughly," Itachi observed.

A thin, bitter smile crossed her face. "I'm a planning-ninja, Uchiha-san. I have lived my entire career knowing that my strength and chakra were inferior to my teammates, but if I could not fight my enemies directly, I could out maneuver them. I'm no Nara by any means, but I can hold my own against those powerhouses that _only _have power. Unfortunately or fortunately, you're not the kind of enemy I would like to meet on any battlefield."

Itachi felt flattered by that admission. After all, she had managed to kill his partner, who had been all but a demon himself. Which made him cautious in turning her down outright. Or turning her down at all. _Perhaps this current generation is not as soft as we veterans of the wars flatter ourselves to think. _

"I would like to see these papers from the Kage before I make any decision," he said at last.

Haruno nodded, long flint black hair swinging with the movement. "That's reasonable. Sai will be here soon. With real clothes," she muttered darkly, pinching distastefully at the collar of her expensive furisode. "Next time, Neji, you play the hime."

The Hyuuga snorted, despite himself. "I think not," he said archly.

Sakura sighed. "I guess it would be pretty strange to have a hime taller than her guard. But if we weren't trying to abduct an Uchiha, we could use henge."

One of Itachi's brows rose, both at her wording and her abrupt descent into a more relaxed kunoichi. A tense silence fell between the three of them, but no outsider would have been able to tell that Sakura was anything but relaxed unless one could sense the way her chakra seemed to almost vibrate with readiness to be used. She left the physical tension to the Hyuuga, who couldn't have sat more stiffly or properly if one replaced his spine with steel.

He'd kept silent and obviously deferred to the Haruno as his captain, which was unusual in the proud Hyuuga. Even if they were a branch house member, judging by the way Itachi had yet to see his forehead bare. "What do you think of this plan?" he asked him directly.

"I dislike it," was the instant reply. "Bringing you back into the village after all this time is a major security risk. No matter the circumstances behind your defection, there is no guarantee you are still loyal to the village."

"Oh?"

"However-," and there was a look towards the kunoichi that was filled with such helplessness against her that Itachi instantly understood the shinobi was more than a little enamored of his captain. "However," the Hyuuga said, "I trust the Godaime's judgment."

"I see." Perhaps even more than the boy himself did, because that glance had been so unconscious he hadn't thought to check it in front of a man who he was half-convinced was still his enemy.

"So you did it, hag," a voice from behind them said. Itachi watched from the corner of his eye as a pale ninja stepped up onto the walkway.

"Not yet. Uchiha-san is still deciding. He'd like to look over the papers."

The boy nodded, reaching into his pack to remove a scroll sealed with the Hokage's insignia. Itachi took it gently, activating his Sharingan to inspect it for traps or forgery. But everything was in order, just as Haruno had promised. Itachi sat very still after he'd read it, almost afraid to think anything. An opportunity like this was outside the bounds of anything he had expected. It stood the chance of tearing all his carefully made plans to ribbons, but there was the slightest chance it would change his fate and Sasuke's for the better.

Itachi did not enjoy bloodshed, violence, or conflict in the deepest, truest parts of himself. So it pained part of him that he had long thought numb to force his little brother to go to such extremes, but Itachi wanted to leave this world with Sasuke strong enough to face Madara. And that could not be done if he wasn't stronger than Itachi himself.

But what she was offering…Itachi had always known he would die young. At first it had been the fatalism common to ninja, but when the disease had set in and his own bloodline began to destroy his eyes, he had known he was not long for this world. So he'd planned as best he could with the resources he had. But this—this was different. Tsunade-sama was a renowned medic ninja. It was within her capabilities to treat both his eyes and his lungs, if she couldn't cure them outright.

_I could be there to protect Sasuke, even if he continues to hate me. _That was his single overwhelming thought that trumped the more logical, analytic stance that would have usually prevailed.

"Well?" Haruno asked, strangely solemn, like she was inquiring about the health of a sick relative.

Itachi stood and he watched as both Hyuuga and the newcomer tensed. But then they disappeared from his line of sight as he stepped in front of where their captain was sitting and performed dogeza, his long hair sweeping in front of his shoulders. "Upon the condition that my brother is kept safe, Haruno Sakura, I swear my allegiance to Konohagakure. Please take care of me."

"Welcome home, Genbu," Haruno said softly.

-X-X-X-

Sakura shifted restlessly from her seat in the window of the hospital. She was half-certain they'd given Itachi her old room, the one with the water stain in the corner that she'd spent so long in during the time of her first chunnin exam. And here she was three short years later, ANBU captain. For what it was worth.

With Danzou loose and Itachi taking longer than expecting to make a full recovery, Tsunade was keeping them close. Even Naruto, who hadn't been able to convince Kakashi that they needed to pursue Sasuke right that instant. She'd heard rumors, though, of another retrieval mission being arranged. With her coup of bringing the elder Uchiha home, the political winds were right for the elders to get a little greedy. Why have only one and a half sets of Sharingan eyes when you could have them all?

"You don't need to linger, Haruno-taichou," Itachi said and she shifted her glance to the nin who'd been confined to bed rest from the moment Tsunade-sama had done a diagnostic scan. Apparently the almost infallible ninja had been very ill for a very long time. Sakura couldn't imagine what he would be like when he made a full recovery.

Which, with time, he would, even though Tsunade-sama had scowled and made several remarks on how very close his damage had come to being irreversible, even for the greatest medic-nin in the shinobi nations. He already looked healthier than he had, the deep stress lines on his face a little softer, what you could see of them beneath the white bandages that shrouded his eyes.

"Absolutely no eye strain," Tsunade-sama had commanded. "None." And to remove the temptation to do something even so taxing as opening his eyes to look at something, she had his eyes wrapped and then a sealing specialist had come in so that he wouldn't be able to activate his Sharingan in the interim.

Sakura had gotten a fairly accurate impression from reading over his records, but it was still remarkable how well and soft-spoke the elder Uchiha brother was when compared to the almost surly Sasuke. If Sasuke had been this nice as well as attractive, Sakura didn't think she would have ever overcome her crush. "It's not a problem. Tsunade-sama said rest is as important as training. It was part of a big lecture on how young, ambitious ninja cut years off their career by not giving their bodies time to heal properly."

Itachi made a 'hm' sound of agreement. "Is there news?" he asked.

"Danzou has been silent. It's like he's disappeared entirely. Most of his core group of Root is gone too. From what we've been able to gather, Sasuke was spotted in Wave Country. It appears he's building some sort of team, likely to track you. When you're healthy, we'll see about requesting a mission. But don't rush things," she urged him. "Tsunade-sama will have both our heads if you relapse."

Itachi chuckled faintly. Sakura took advantage of his current blindness to examine him shamelessly, noting similarities and differences between him and Sasuke. There were many of both, but Itachi's overall impression was somehow smoother, more polished.

"It'll be interesting when you're up and about. I've never really led a proper team before and I've already had the gall to get both the premiere kekkai genkai of the village on a team specially arranged for me by the Hokage. The rumors are running rampant."

"I could imagine. What are the most interesting ones?"

"Anko has a big bet riding on the books that I turn the three of you into some sort of reverse harem within the year. The elders think I'm consolidating power for some sort of maniacal move to supplant Danzou and become the next big bad in the political shadows. Just to piss Naruto off, Tsunade-sama's been telling people I'm the best Hokage candidate they've had in years. Ah! And Yamanaka Ino, who is one of my friends, is convinced I've 'upgraded my Uchiha model.'" Sakura laughed, feeling properly relaxed for the first time since they'd managed to retrieve Sasuke for the first time. It wouldn't last, she knew, but for a shinobi, every moment of peace was treated as something precious, because there was no guarantee how long it would last.

Itachi didn't laugh, but his lips twitched upward into a smile. Having been long acquainted with the subtle expressions of Neji, she easily interpreted it as the equivalent of Naruto howling with laughter. Perhaps one day Itachi's expressions wouldn't be so constrained, but he'd been a missing-nin for a long time. To expect him to return to the ninja he had been before the massacre was unreasonable.

What would Itachi look like if he ever really laughed? She found she couldn't even imagine it. Neji could be surprised into laughter, but in the years she'd known him, she'd only seen it once or twice, a red flush brushing his cheeks like he'd been caught doing something embarrassing instead of just laughing. She was hoping time and constant exposure to Naruto might change that.

"Haruno-san." An ANBU operative appeared next to her on the window sill, rat mask and mousy brown wig hiding his identity. Sakura made a mental note to look into acquiring a wig to hide her own distinctive hair on missions. She disliked dying it, as the black color still wasn't completely gone from her time as Kin, and henge was unreliable against skilled enemies. Sakura wordlessly accepted the scroll the ninja handed to her, breaking the simple seal that confirmed it was direct from the Kage.

_Sorry, Sakura, _it read in Tsunade-shishou's familiar hand. _But with Danzou gone, the elders are nervous. The other Root operatives are sealed, so it's pointless to go about breaking the minds of our own ninja, but somehow word got out that you were working with him for me. I'll kill whoever it was as soon as I can get my hands on them, but cooperate for now. I'll make sure you get an interrogator you're familiar with. They might insist on using a Yamanaka. _

When her eyes came to that line, her hands clenched involuntarily on the paper, almost crumpling it. _They can't do that, if they do that then—_

_Hush, _Madara's dark voice rolled through her. _Your panic is unnecessary. _

_If a Yamanaka looks inside my head, I'll be lucky if the only thing it does is end my career. _

_Orochimaru and I will cooperate to make certain they see nothing…incriminating. _

Sakura groaned internally. _The way you said that does not help things. _

_They will be drawn down into my garden, if they see a mentalscape at all. I will subdue the Kyuubi and that goat-beast that rampages here and Orochimaru will control access to your subconscious memory, if your interrogator is even talented enough for that. Your mind is broken into many layers that are only tenuously connected. Hiding information here from an intruder will actually be simpler than allowing them access to the memories in the fashion a normal psyche would present them. _

Orochimaru's dark chuckle rang in her ear and she felt a too-familiar coil drawing 'round her shoulders like a mantle. _Don't worry, Sakura-chan. If he gets too rough, we'll break him. _

_Don't you dare, _she warned. "Thank you," she told the ANBU aloud. "Tell Tsunade-sama that I'm on my way."

With a curt nod, the ANBU disappeared.

"Something has happened?" Itachi asked as Sakura, stretching muscles that had suddenly drawn taught with tension.

"Nothing to do with your situation, thankfully," Sakura replied, striding over to the door instead of taking the rooftop route, which almost had her slamming into the solid wall that was Sai's chest.

"In a hurry, ugly?" Sai asked.

"Yep, summons for the Hokage," she answered flippantly, reaching up to pat his cheek fondly. It was a bad habit, she knew, petting the Root ninja like he was some kind of animal, but the physical contact without the intention to do violence was soothing. And Sai, bless his unsocialized heart, didn't associate it with flirting or weakness or anything so messy. Sakura needed the physical contact sometimes to keep her world together, but she didn't think Neji would appreciate the imposition and Naruto, the numbskull, would misinterpret. "Take care of Itachi-san for me, ne, Sai-chan?"

And then she was out the door before her team could say anything else.

-X-X-X-

_Summons from the Hokage? _Neji frowned. The worst of the fallout from the Uchiha situation had already blown over. This had to be something unrelated. _Taichou…_

With only the three of them left, it promised to be an unexciting few hours. Or, at least, that was what he thought, before Sai dragged two of the plastic hospital chairs into a crescent shape on one side of the Uchiha's bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked incredulously.

"Team bonding," the dark-haired shinobi replied. "The Hokage loaned me a book on team relations. It said performance is improved by team cohesion, which is improved by a closer knowledge of your teammates."

"Sai," Neji said stiffly, "I don't think that's necessary."

"The hag would be all for it, if she was here," Sai said, plopping down easily on one of the chairs and pulling out a sketchpad.

"Why do you refer to Haruno-san that way?" Itachi inquired before Neji could snap at his teammate. He didn't really understand Sakura's choice for Seiryuu. Surely there had been better candidates.

"Nicknames are common among friends, are they not?"

"Not usually derogatory ones, no," Neji said with a sigh, taking a seat in the empty chair. He'd been slightly curious as to why Sakura would allow herself to be addressed like that, but he'd just assumed her time with Naruto had granted her some sort of inhuman patience when it came to rudeness and stupidity.

"I read in a book they are usually based on a physical characteristics or mannerisms."

"And you find Haruno-san unattractive?" Itachi asked.

"No," Sai said, tilting his head slightly to the side. "The book said that the nickname was derived from the opposite of their physical characteristic. Although the hag is a violent woman."

Neji blinked, trying to wrap his mind around the idea that all those times Sai had called Sakura 'ugly' or a 'hag' were inept compliments. "Have you told Sakura this?"

"No," Sai replied, apparently unconcerned about the massive misunderstanding that could have resulted from that one book. _A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing_, someone had once said.

Itachi nodded slowly, apparently having the same difficulties as Neji. "You have been her teammate for some time now?" he prompted.

"No. I was the replacement for Uchiha Sasuke, but only for a few months now. Before then, I had only glimpsed Sakura in the Root complex."

Though he was currently blind, Itachi's face turned unerringly in Neji's direction. "Sakura and I have been working together for almost three years. We were promoted to jounin at almost the same time."

"I see. Your appointment to ANBU is recent?"

"Yes. Just before the mission came down to retrieve you. The Shishin motif for the squad was Sakura's idea. I believe she wished to create a team that could equal the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist for notoriety," Neji confided.

"She does not lack either ambition or the ability to act on that ambition," Itachi said dryly. "But I have a question for both of you. When Haruno-san first confronted me, she seemed…almost as if she were a different person. Is that her way of coping with missions? You will understand I am hesitant to ask Haruno-san directly."

Neji hesitated. "That was…a little strange, even for Sakura," he said after a moment's consideration. "For someone who has tigers as a summons, she doesn't often use sheer brute force. Even when it's all mental. But if she hadn't overwhelmed you like that, would you have accepted her offer?"

Itachi was silent as he apparently thought it over. "Perhaps, but it would be less likely. You said Haruno-san uses tigers as a summons. What is her fighting style like? And yours, Sai? I am already familiar with the Hyuuga technique."

"I use ink summons," Sai explained bluntly, "And the hag likes her battles fast and silent. When that doesn't work, she falls back on her taijutsu and Trap Art ninjutsu skills."

"Hn. I look forward to sparring with her before we go on any missions. The two of you as well. I look forward to meeting you in battle."

As did Neji. The chance to take on a skilled opponent like Itachi would be an incredible training opportunity. That it would be a nonlethal match only added to his enjoyment. From everything he'd heard, the elder brother was the superior to the younger brother in every way. And if he could learn to predict Itachi, he was certain he would have no trouble thrashing Sasuke for what he'd done to Sakura.

-X-X-X-

Sakura had only one thing on her mind. A dark room, completely absent of light and noise. She'd settle for a hole in the ground or a cell in the dankest corner of the detention center if only she could make it there. She settled for an interrogation room with a cool washcloth draped over her eyes, trying to force her body to relax.

If only the kunais stabbing at the insides of her eyes would let her fall asleep. Or if Tsunade-sama would take pity on her poor weapon, but there was no chance of that. It would be dangerous at the moment for the Hokage to show her favor until the Elder Council had over-analyzed every piece of information that Madara and Orochimaru had allowed them to glean.

Was that really what it felt like to have a whole mind? It was like putting on a straightjacket voluntarily. Sakura knew she'd suffered from dissociative personality disorder since she'd been very young. She couldn't even remember the first time Inner-Sakura had begun to take on a life and personality of her own inside her head. And then after the encounter with Itachi's hellish genjutsu, she fallen straight into the Five Kingdoms.

To her, it didn't really feel different or wrong. Perhaps because it was something she had lived with for years now. But, kami-sama, that had hurt. If she wasn't already there, uniting her fractured consciousness might break her mind in a more permanent way.

A very low voice, almost a whisper, came from the direction of the door. "Sakura?"

She winced as Neji opened the door slowly, letting in light from the hallway. "S'alright, come in. Bad reaction to the interrogation."

"I know. Tsunade-sama send for me. Would you like me to take you home now?"

"Thank kami-sama," Sakura breathed. "But I don't think I can take the light."

She was surprised when there was a rustling sound, then a heavy fabric dropped over her face. The smell that clung to it was familiar and comforting, but at the moment all it served to do was make her temples throb a little harder.

And then he picked her up and she couldn't help the embarrassing 'eep' that escaped her lips. "Be grateful I don't wear kimono like my uncle," Neji said dryly as he adjusting his grip and then turned towards what she assumed was the door.

"Very grateful," Sakura murmured, voice strained. Neji had a very smooth, quick walk that got them back to her home quickly, but it still left her feeling sick.

They came in through her balcony. "Close the curtains, please," she gasped at him as she made a run for the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach. She was sick a few more times, but when the heaving stopped, she felt incredibly drained but a little better.

And she was surprised to find Neji hovering worriedly at her shoulder, ready with a wet washcloth so she could clean herself up. "That was awful," she pronounced heavily as she could still feel her calves trembling.

"Are you alright?"

Despite herself, she couldn't help the faint feeling of being cared for that bloomed in her chest at the faint worry in Neji's voice. Which was a fairly reasonable concern. Some people simply didn't react well to having their mind invaded, even if they didn't have multiple personalities at work. If the vomiting continued and she went blind later tonight, Sakura knew there was a distinct possibility that she'd be dead of a brain aneurism by morning.

"I won't lie and say I'm fine, but I'm better. The light isn't bothering me so much now. I think I'll take a shower and have some tea before I lay down for a while," Sakura said, thinking out loud.

Neji nodded. "Would you like me to bring fresh clothes in for you?"

Sakura smiled up at him. "Have I told you you're a lifesaver yet today?"

Neji chuckled, but there was something off about the sound. "Not today, but it's good to hear."

With that he stepped out of the room, presumably to acquire promised clothes. Sakura flushed her mess down the toilet and then, after rinsing her hands and face, went down the hall to the bathroom. She slipped quickly out of her clothing in the narrow changing room, dumping them all in the hamper to be washed, then stepped into the tiled room with the drain on the floor. She was just adjusting the water to be refreshing cool when she heard the door slide open and closed again. "Thanks!" she called.

There was a muffled "Welcome" from the other side, but then Sakura busied herself with washing herself briskly, determined to rid herself of the lingering scent of vomit and sweat.

Not ten minutes later she made her way down the stairs, clad in the casual tank and shorts that usually served as her pajamas when she was at home. When she got to the bottom stair, she caught the delightfully soothing scent of freshly brewed chamomile tea. Making her way into the kitchen, she expected her father or perhaps her mother to be at work, but no, it was Neji, just pouring a piping hot cup of the liquid ambrosia.

"I heard the water turn off," he said by way of explanation as he offered the cup to her. Sakura took it carefully, struggling against the impulse to raise a brow and ask Neji what he was still doing here.

But instead she invited him into the living room, which usually had the curtains pulled during the daytime to keep the sun from bleaching the rugs anyway. As she waited for her tea to become cool enough to drink, she felt the weight of Neji's stare weighing her down.

"How long?"

"How long what?" she asked in confusion.

"How long did you work for Tsunade-sama, spying in Root?"

Sakura grimaced. "Tsunade-sama told you, huh? I always thought you suspected."

There was something hard in his opalescent eyes, something that Sakura couldn't understand. "I knew you had trainers other than Gai and Tsunade-sama. I always thought you were with them or on solo missions. Did you know that until the Hokage explained it to me, I didn't even really know what Root was? I thought it was just another division of ANBU."

"It wasn't," Sakura said quietly.

"I know that now," Neji growled. The kind, helpful Neji of before had somehow evaporated in the ten minutes she'd been in the shower. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and prayed that the throbbing in her temples would subside completely. She was better, but she still felt ill, weak, vulnerable. "I'm sorry," she began, "but you already know the answer to that."

And just as quickly as the rage had appeared, it dissipated and Neji slumped forward a little, looking somehow defeated. "I know," he whispered. "But it doesn't make me any less angry. I wish I could have _done _something."

"You did. You were my friend. I didn't have any teammates in the village at the time," Sakura said reflectively, "and Kakashi-sempai was busy being Kakashi-sempai. If it weren't for you and Gai and Lee and Ino, things might have been a lot worse. As it was, no matter how bad those missions got, there was always a reason to come back. A reason to go on the next one. And the one after that and the one after that. Konohagakure's my world, Neji, but it isn't just buildings."

"Tsunade-sama told me about how Danzou punished you for bringing Sasuke back."

Sakura froze, furious herself now. That was a _private _shame and Tsunade-sama had no call to tell others about it.

"Don't be angry at her, Sakura," Neji asked. "I demanded she tell me. I wanted to know if they'd hurt you."

"We're shinobi. Getting hurt is something that happens."

"But not like that, it shouldn't," Neji insisted.

"Well, you won't hear me campaigning in defense of it," Sakura said bitterly, taking an incautious sip of tea that scalded her tongue. "But it's over now. Let it go, Neji. I have."

Neji was silent for a while. "When I first met you, I thought you would never make chunnin," he said slowly. "I thought that eventually you'd wear down the Uchiha or turn to someone else, get married and retire after a lackluster career." Sakura tried not to flinch, but the barbs flew true and straight. The Sakura he'd first met, if she'd never met Orochimaru in that dark forest, might have ended up that way. "But the Sakura who took that beating without ever saying a word to her teammates—she's one of the strongest people I know." Sakura hadn't really realized until that moment how warm a color white could be. "I wish there was more I could do for you, Sakura. But you have a team now. Your Shishin. And it's the responsibility of a good commander to know when to depend on her teammates for support. Please."

If there was a little dampness gathering in the corners of her eyes, she blamed it on the migraine.

A/N: Not sure if I'm quite satisfied with Itachi's POV or not. Turns out the Itachi Retrieval Arc was fairly short, but now we move onto other, larger matters. Thanks to everyone for reading!


	27. Gaining Wings

Disclaimer: Except for the original ideas, everything else belongs to people far more well known and well paid than me.

A/N: There is this unfortunate phenomenon known as 'getting your life together.' I'm not quite there yet and I'll probably be devoting significant time to my original fiction, but I thought it was beyond time to suck it up and put out another chapter.

Speaking of new things, this fic now has some faux book covers to go with it, along with some other fan art. Look for them on my profile as soon as I figure out how to keep the site from eating the links!

Thanks to everyone who was inspired enough by this story to produce fanart. I always find them interesting. There is also a new one for First Flower of Spring, so look forward to the next chapter!

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-seven-

Gaining Wings

It had been a long time since she'd worn such figure-revealing clothes, she thought silently to herself as she traced the fabric uncertainly. The tightly fitted sleeveless turtleneck was paired with equally sleeveless white body armor, chainmail sewn between layers of silk for comfort. Her kimono top looked like she'd merely shrugged it off her shoulders, hanging at her waist, with a complex series of knotted obijime serving as a belt over an obi thin enough to be a man's. Her pants were loose enough at the top to allow for easy movement, but at her knees they'd been gathered tightly and went into tall boots made of fine leather. And, to accessorize, Sasuke's sword still held a place of distinction at her waist.

Sakura touched the mirror tentatively, almost in disbelieve, the bells of Neji's hairpin jangling with the movement. Pressing her forehead against the cool glass, she whispered, "Everything will be well. Everything will be fine." It was like a mantra, but she felt no peace from it.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly. Today was the first day her team would train together. It was also the first step towards the inescapable future in which she would confront Sasuke again. "One day," she promised the reflection, "that boy will mean nothing to you."

She walked slowly down the stairs, predicting all that would go wrong today. Sai, of course, would be an endless source of awkwardness, but what she worried most about were Itachi and Neji. Neji, normally the most composed of team members, had somehow developed a rather passive-aggressive approach to their newest addition. They weren't to the level of the old team 7 rivalry, as both had more dignity and poise than Naruto and Sasuke could ever hope for, but it was there just the same.

_If you wish to be a kunoichi, that is your choice, but who you marry is mine. I will hand-select your father's heir and you will accept him without complaint. _

Sakura bit down on her lip, flinching at the memory of her mother's words. "It was just a bad day," she murmured to herself, hoping that saying it aloud would allow her to believe it. "Just the other day she was teasing me about Neji. She wouldn't..." Sakura's voice failed her. Her mother would. It was expected in a clan like theirs. Just as Hinata might well have to marry to maintain the bloodline, the most important thing to the Haruno clan were economic ties and political influence. The latter was favored because the one thing the Haruno clan already had was enough wealth to sink a fleet of ships, but in this case Sakura knew she might be asked to marry within the clan.

Her hand shook. Sakura had surrendered her body to Danzo for punishment, to Tsunade as a weapon, and for her friends as a shield, but never had she considered sacrificing it night after night to a husband. And children-the thought was unbearable. Children would mean several years lost as a ninja as a matter of course, but statistically the number of kunoichi who resumed active duty after having children was very small. And with her mind as it was-it was a chance she could not take.

She wondered, briefly, if Itachi had a similar hesitance about passing on his eyes to any children he might father. Sakura knew it was only a matter of time before the elders began pressing him on the issue, but it seemed to personal to talk about with the reserved nin, even if he was now a member of her team and under her command. Both the physical and mental well-being of her members was her responsibility, but for now she felt she could only observe and learn. She'd been partners with Neji for years now and she had yet to broach the subject of the seal and what it might mean for him when he had a family of his own.

"One trouble at a time," she told herself firmly, striding back into her room, sliding back the door, and leaping from her balcony railing as lightly as a sparrow taking flight.

-X-X-X-

"Geh." It was a strangled syllable, as it felt almost like she'd swallowed her tongue. Her ears and cheeks burned and she was absolutely certain her skin was pinker than her hair. There was an element of voyeurism here as she ducked behind the trunk of the tree she'd been preparing to leap down from. Pressing her hand flat against her chest, she felt her heart flutter like she was about to enter a life-or-death battle, but it was only her team down there. Or, more specifically, two members of her team.

Soaking wet. Nostalgia had made her book her old training grounds for today, despite there being far better fields reserved for ANBU members, but while she'd been absent it appeared Neji and Itachi had challenged each other to a spar without chakra. That was the only reason she could think up for them to be standing calf deep in the water, long hair dripping and silk armor clinging to lean bodies.

"Please give a girl some warning," Sakura whispered as she ducked behind the trunk again, pressing herself against the unforgiving bark. It wasn't that she hadn't known they were attractive-it being rather difficult to overlook-but she hadn't seen them as anything other than the safely gender neutral teammates. Now, she was very, very clear on how mistaken she had been.

_ Don't do this, Sakura, _she scolded herself. _This team is more important than your hormones. Make like Madara and get down there. _

Taking a deep breath, she dropped to the ground. Sai glanced up at her as she walked up. "Taichou," he greeted lackadaisically, but both Itachi and Neji glanced up sharply, as if they'd been startled. Realizing her mistake, she cancelled out the Absolute Dark technique she'd unconsciously employed.

"Taichou," they chorused in perfect unison and Sakura coughed awkwardly to cover her embarrassment. Neji's silver gaze conveyed a certain warmth and how proud he was of her, but it also demanded something. She knew not what that something was yet, but she hoped it was something she would be able to provide. Itachi's dark eyes were harder to read, passive and without expectation at all. Sakura frowned faintly. She'd noticed it before, when he was still healing, that there were times when Itachi seemed almost without desire or ambition of his own. Those times coincided almost perfectly with the visits of authority figures.

_It's almost like...well, I knew that Danzo had a hand in his training, but I didn't realize how much of the conditioning would remain. He's much smoother than Sai, much more at ease with people, but in his own way just as alienated from normal human feeling. Is it because of his clan? Or is it because he was born a genius? Neji can be like that sometimes. He was born with prodigious talent that he's spent all his life perfecting, so I don't think he really understands the way that Lee has to learn things by repetition. But if Neji was a prodigy, Itachi is and was something more than that. _

"Is something wrong, taichou?" Itachi asked and Sakura realized she'd been staring.

"Maybe, but it's something for me to worry about later. Right now," and Sakura clapped her hands together with finality. "This is our first official practice together as an ANBU squad. We're no longer gennin meeting strangers, dependent upon our sensei for skills. Each of us is talented enough to have been promoted to this position."

"And to have been hand-picked by Haruno-taichou," Sai added with his characteristic smile.

"And to have been hand-picked by me," Sakura acknowledged, "for what that's worth. But what we don't have is a history together. Itachi has been absent for Konohagakure for most of our careers. The protocols in place when he left are different from the ones we are familiar with. Sai has served Danzo almost exclusively. His assignment to Team 7 was his first team assignment. It was also a relatively short-lived one."

"But you and the Hyuuga have history," Itachi pointed out.

"That's correct, but working well with only one member of your team is alienating to the other members." _Trust me, I know. Once upon a time, it didn't bother me that only Sasuke and Naruto were really capable of teamwork. But now, it's a blemish upon my career that I can't blot out no matter how long I train or how hard I work. _"Which is why I won't favor Neji in practice, Itachi-san."

"You may address me without honorifics, Haruno-taichou. If you are really interested in not favoring your teammates."

_But you're older than me and far more skilled. It feels strange to address you so familiarly. I didn't drop the honorific with Neji for a long time. _

-X-X-X-

Neji watched the Uchiha carefully. Sakura was hesitating at his invitation. He thought, with some satisfaction, that she hadn't shown the same hesitation when she'd finally begun calling him by his name. Sakura was oddly proper with everyone but Naruto, whom she'd casually and insulting addressed by his given name since being assigned to his team. So it made him feel privileged, somehow, when she called him and him only without a –san or –kun attached.

It was unsettling, how interested Itachi was in the captain. Suspect, even. While Sakura had presented convincing evidence of his acting on nothing more than orders, Neji wasn't so quick to dismiss the influence that all those years in the Akatsuki might have had on the Uchiha's character.

"Itachi, then. I hope all of you will point out my mistakes, because this is my first time acting as a squad leader. I wish that we had time to become accustomed to each other on a series of lower ranked mission, but our spies have finally picked up on Danzo's movements."

With Neji's eyes, it was easy to see how Itachi became more focused at the name. His dark eyes, no longer so damaged by Sharingan use but still imperfect, locked on to Sakura like she was a sunrise he was trying to engrave on his memory. "And?" he asked.

Sakura's expression grew a little more drawn, as if she was tired. "It looked like he and his men were trailing Sasuke. They're about a week and a half behind and moving slow to try and avoid detection. Tsunade-shishou wasn't certain about giving us a mission like this so early after your reinstatement, but she eventually said it was our right."

"How long have you known this?" Itachi asked.

"I was told yesterday."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "I see. When do we leave?"

"This afternoon, if all goes well at this practice. Ah," she said, brightening, "I almost forgot." Digging in her pouch, she produced a narrow case and handed it to Itachi.

Neji watched curiously as the nin snapped it open and looked inside. A sigh, almost inaudible, escaped his lips. Neji recognized the thin wire frames for what they were immediately, even before the other man slid the glasses on.

Sakura smiled. "Tsunade-shishou said if you don't wear them, it will put strain on your eyes even without the Sharigan and it'll be that much sooner before they'll need to be healed. She also said to remind you that there's a limit to how much you can heal eyes before the scar tissue builds up and your blindness becomes irreversible."

"I will try to be careful. I owe a debt of gratitude to Tsunade-sama as it is, for healing me in the first place. I had resigned myself—but I suppose that does not matter. Thank you, Haruno-taichou."

Sakura's smile grew wider. "You're welcome." Neji wondered at the sudden impulse to break the Uchiha's new glasses.

-X-X-X-

Bright. Perky, almost. Whatever adjective he chose, Itachi was certain that the personality Haruno Sakura was now showing them was at odds with the one she'd worn when she'd recruited him. Now she only inspired the same kind of feelings his little brother did: a protectiveness born of a desire to keep a childlike innocence intact, the need to smile at her first fumbling attempts at making them into a team, a gentle regard for her wellbeing as she looked as if she hadn't slept well the night before.

Nothing at all like the ruthless, sleek predator who'd almost toyed with him as she'd made her demon's bargain. Again, he thought it was strange, but she'd been on a mission then. Perhaps that was the mask that allowed her to cope with the atrocious acts she was asked to commit. Kami knew that he had a mask of his own. One so well-constructed he could wear it as he murdered his entire family and face down his own brother covered in their blood. Itachi quickly turned his mind away from the memory, distracting himself with the tiny spike of killing intent he'd felt from his other teammate while he'd been speaking with Sakura.

The one who most needed to work on his mask in this group was the Hyuuga. The Root member's mask ran so deep Itachi had his own private doubts there was a face to discover beneath it. Jealousy was an unproductive emotion to begin with and was potentially destructive to a team's cohesiveness. It hadn't taken him more than that first meeting to notice his interest, but it had taken several days for Itachi to come to the startling realization that Neji really and truly didn't know that he was romantically interested in Sakura. Itachi wondered that anyone who called themselves a ninja wouldn't be able to empirically examine their feelings and either nurture or quash them as needed.

Itachi knew himself well enough that he recognized that falling in love with Sakura would be like sliding down an icy hill in midwinter in the Land of Snow. Circumstances seemed to favor it and neither of them had other romantic attachments to hinder the development of a mutual regard. But until Sasuke was safe from all threats, whether they were external or internal, Itachi's own life was forfeit. That was the understanding he had come to that night as he had told him, in the coldest voice he had ever spoken in, to build his hate.

But he doubted Neji understood this and a long buried playful part of Itachi almost wanted to encourage his misunderstanding. Stealing a glance at the captain, however, he decided against it. The only thing that mattered at this moment was Sasuke. And in order to save him, Itachi would do whatever it took, even at the cost of his own worthless life.

-X-X-X-

The worst part, Sakura decided as she slid beneath Neji's palm strike, was that they were all very intense. Naruto could be counted on for a laugh even in the darkest times, but all of them, including her, tended to be serious. Take this spar, for example.

Even as she slid safely beneath Neji's strike, Itachi's fist caught her in the ribs, driving out all her breath and just about her breakfast. As her feet left the ground and she choked out a gagging, gasping breath, someone's elbow was driven into her back, driving her into the ground.

Even without breath, she had strength enough left to push herself up onto her hands, swinging her body into a spinning kick that bought her some space but not enough time to recover. Reaching deep into her muscle memory, she flowed through the forms of Shifting Sand, Crane Dance being too close for to the Gentle Fist style to be effective against this generation's master and the others too slow and unwieldy to match Itachi's speed. Actually, if she were to be honest, none of them were a match for Itachi's speed. Which was why it was a personal rule that she never turned a match against an Uchiha into a taijutsu bought. It was guaranteed to end badly.

Although, now that she could see firsthand what the developed Uchiha style looked like, she'd have liked to have told Sasuke that he was miserable at it. His personal style was choppy, heavy, but incredibly powerful. Itachi too retained those elements, strange as it looked with his appearance, but when it was Itachi she could almost see fire dancing before her eyes.

Perhaps because of Kakashi's influence, she always imagined a squad leader as someone capable of taking on any and all of his subordinates, but she had intellectually understood from the beginning that her squad would not be like that. But having it physically proven to her like this was a blow to her pride that stung, though again her brain told that she facing off against some of the strongest ninja this village had seen since the end of the wars. Her style was a good match for Sai and she was at her best Neji's equal, but Itachi was her better even in his worst moments. It was as simple as that. He had more experience, chakra, strength, and speed. His only weakness was his eyesight, but that was ameliorated by the prescription lenses he was wearing and his Sharingan. He was, in a word, perfect.

As she thought this, she could feel herself beginning to panic as his kunai brushed her cheek, her heart rate accelerating, her movements becoming rushed. She was going to lose again.

Almost without her direction, she cried out, _Madara_ like she had once called Sasuke's name. It was a moment of inexcusable weakness, but also a moment of growth and strength, for since the Forest of Death she had relied only on herself. Orochimaru had always provided help without asking, but Madara was at once more controlling and more freeing. Madara could drive her body at need, but there was also an invitation embedded in her subconscious mind, a knowledge that together they were one perfect being, a long dark curve yang being pulled into the burning light of yin only to find its beginning at the end. Sakura no longer knew if this was how normal people were, finding balance of light and dark, presence and void, action and passivity in their own selves, but it was drawing closer to the time when Sakura would be only void, a shell filled by Amanozako, the insatiable hunger in the abyss.

But in this moment Madara gave them, not Orochimaru's illusion of immortality, but his own illusion of _invincibility. _Satisfaction lit the warm breath that flowed through her, loosing muscles tensed dangerously, breaking down the monumental task of holding the others at bay into manageable movements. She fainted like she would shoulder-ram Neji, but as he bent his upper body back in a graceful arch to avoid it, she drove the pommel of Sasuke's sword deep into the muscles of his lower abdomen. Catching Sai's wrist as he tried to take advantage of the movement, Sakura changed her stance abruptly to use his own weight and momentum against him, throwing him over her shoulder to land roughly on Neji, eliminating them both briefly.

Pushing chakra into her legs, she leapt up and back, gaining distance between herself and the other Uchiha, landing on the center pole that Kakashi had once lashed Naruto to. But Itachi, strangely enough, had stopped moving. Sakura didn't relax her stance, thinking that it was some ploy. But as the moments ticked past, marked by Sai's rough gasps for breath, she began to grow curious. If she gave him an opening, would he take it? But could she afford to give an opening to an opponent like the Uchiha?

_Close your eyes, _Madara commanded, forcing the muscles to relax, the words only a courtesy or habit.

_Why?_

_He would have used Sharingan. _

_But this is only a practice match!_

_And yet you called on me. You are evolving, Sakura. You can no longer be satisfied with defeat. I am proud of you. _

That sentence stopped her cold, distracting her enough that Itachi's blow caught her by surprise, dislocating her shoulder and toppling her from the post. Her eyes fluttered open, but she shut them tight before her brain even had time to process what she'd seen. Shifting her stance once again, this one the low and solid stance of Breath of Stone, Sakura grimly contemplated how to gracefully accept defeat. Madara had reminded her of her nindo, which included showing her full repertoire to no one, not even her teammates. Always deception, always hiding, no matter how wearing it became.

And if Itachi happened to meet Madara in her mind, it would be beyond 'game over.'

Because the only reason he was following her now was her promise to save his brother. If he began to doubt that, Sakura knew it would take less than an instant for him to abandon her precious village. Mind made up, she allowed Neji's next attack to graze her, blocking much of the chakra on the left side of her body. With her dominant arm disabled and it difficult to utilize the other, Sakura only stayed in the fight for another five or six minutes before allowing three of Sai's inked tigers to pin her down.

"Yield," she gasped when it was finished. Opening her eyes, she met Itachi's gaze. It was somehow…disappointed? Had he been able to tell he'd thrown the match?

_Soon, _Madara promised, _I will erase that snake's influence. And then we will no longer lose. _With that he retreated deep inside her soul, leaving her aching and empty.

"I thought you had us for a moment there, Sakura," Neji said. He was smiling faintly and had lost some of the rigid tension that had dogged him for most of the match.

"I thought so too, but it looks like I'm no match for the three of you working together," Sakura said with amusement.

"Hmm," Sai hummed, leaning down to help her sit up. Sakura regarded him with surprise, especially as he knelt and closed the distance between them, taking a firm grip on her arm, but when the sharp spike of pain came from her reset joint. "If you are going to make a habit of being injured, captain, it would be best if you assigned someone to a medic role."

Flexing her fingers and wincing at the soreness, she nonetheless forced her hand up to caress Sai's jaw. While she didn't have it in her to touch anyone else, Sai needed physical touch without violence or the promise of it so desperately she made an exception for him. "You're doing fine, Sai. If you keep it up, I might even recommend you to Tsunade-shishou for the medic program."

"Unlikely, hag."

Sakura chuckled. "Now if you could only learn to reverse chakra blocking."

"I'll take care of it," Neji volunteered. His touch was surprisingly gentle as his hands ghosts over her side, his kekkai genkai inactivated.

"You're going to spoil me with so much attention," Sakura said dryly. It was the only thing she could do, because part of her wanted her to tell them all to stop, and the other part wanted to be warmed by the support. "Thanks, Neji," she said in a low voice, half-turning her head so she could watch his long hair, still damp, shift as he worked. Long strands had come loose, falling forward over his face as he worked.

"Welcome," he mumbled, which was unusual for her articulate teammate, but she overlooked it in favor of turning her attention to Itachi, who was still watching her.

"We'll leave this afternoon, but I can't promise when. This will be a coordinated effort. Danzo is considered an S-level threat and it will be the first assignment of the Shishinto neutralize him. If he can be taken care of in time, we will then render assistance in retrieving Uchiha Sasuke."

"Who is the primary team for that mission?" Itachi asked.

"Kakashi-sempai will be leading it, but he is borrowing Kurenai-sensei's team. Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Their specialty is tracking, so it should make the mission easier."  
"Naruto isn't going?" Neji asked with surprise as he drew away.

"As if. There isn't a prison in the shinobi nations that could hold him." Standing, Sakura brushed off her clothing. "I expect everyone to assemble by the gate at noon."

-X-X-X-

After Sakura took her leave, it left her three male teammates to their own device. Sai stared thoughtfully at the spot where their pink-haired leader had disappeared into the trees. "I wonder why hag threw the match?"

Itachi glanced sharply at the dark-haired ninja. "You don't think she did it deliberately as a team-building exercise? Even if it was clumsily executed, this is her first command."

"We would have eventually beaten her anyway. There was no need for her to lose on purpose. It is unlike her."

Neji shook his head, bringing a hand to his lips thoughtfully. "When it comes to pure taijutsu, Sakura could have taken the momentum from that moment when she'd taken both of us out of the fight to engage the Uchiha one-on-one. She is not Lee or Gai-sensei, but she might be capable of bringing the match to a draw. No offense intended, Uchiha."

"None taken, Hyuuga."

"And hag isn't the type to be afraid of red-eye here. Unless the resemblance to the little pink-eye was just too much to bear."

"Don't be ridiculous," Neji said sharply. "You know what she did to Sasuke the first time she brought him back to the village."

"What _did_ she do?" Itachi asked with keen interest. While he'd known the bare outline of Naruto and Sakura's quest to return their teammate to the village, Sakura hadn't taken advantage of his time in the hospital to impart the details. And Naruto hadn't visited him, which was unsurprising given their past encounters.

"She didn't hold back," Sai replied. "There were rumors."

"Rumors?"

"That she used some secret move she'd learned from Akatsuki to defeat him."

"And? Were the rumors true?"

Sai shrugged carelessly. "I wasn't present at the battle, so I do not know for certain, but the Hokage was very angry with her. If it was something she learned, it would been from Sasori of the Red Sands. At the time, that was the only Akatsuki member she'd killed." He glanced over at Itachi. "With you, her count is brought to three."

"Yes. She has made herself quite the target," Itachi murmured. "But it seems she might have the foresight to survive her actions. You don't need to continue to doubt me so openly, Hyuuga. Unless she reneges on her efforts to save my brother, I am her loyal subordinate."

"But not this village's."

"You will forgive me if I have my own doubts about how much this village has changed, with or without Danzo. Besides, it's quite obvious where your first loyalties lie."

"With my village and my clan, where they should be," Neji retorted.

"If you claim it is so, then it must be."

-X-X-X-

Sakura shaded her eyes with her hand, wondering aimlessly down the streets of Konoha. She'd finished her packing before she'd left the house this morning. It would spoil her leave-taking if she had another argument with her mother. Not that she wasn't already disturbed. She'd called on Madara. She'd almost turned that against her teammates. Not an enemy of Konoha, not some stranger, but the people she was supposed to be closest to.

"Hee-ey!" Ino's strident voice was immediately recognizable, even without her eager waving. Tenten was looking sheepish beside her. Sakura returned the wave with a weak one of her own, resisting the urge to turn on her heel and walk the other direction. She'd luckily avoided speaking to her without Ino's team present, but this looked suspiciously like a set-up for the much-dreaded girl talk. Though she knew there was no way that Ino could have known she was going to be walking through here this morning. Absolutely no way.

"Good morning," she said with as much brightness as she could muster as she took her own seat, signaling for the waiter to bring her a menu.

"Good morning," Ino said with a conspiratorial grin, putting strange emphasis on the syllables, breaking good into almost two words. "So, how were they? Your 'team-building' go well?" The air quotes were laid on so thick she didn't even need to make the gesture.

Sakura leaned forward and Ino mirrored her. "Oh, you know how it goes. I had their hands all over me. Except Itachi. You think maybe he's shy?"

Ino burst into laughter. "Man, you had me going for a second there. But, really, you should just pick one, shove him down and have your way with him. But, wow, 'Itachi'? Aren't you familiar already."

"'Have you way with him?' What kind of books have you been reading, Ino?"

"I would just like to remind you that Neji was my teammate before he was your subordinate and if you have your way with him and then abandon him, I won't forgive you," Tenten interjected.

Sakura put her hand over her heart solemnly. "I swear, if I take advantage of Hyuuga Neji, I will respect his feelings."

"And you solemnly swear not to rebound from Sasuke with his older brother, no matter how hot he is?"

"I solemnly swear not to bound anywhere, no matter how well Itachi wears those glasses. May I drink a thousand needles."

Ino slumped back in her chair. "Man, you just have all the luck," she teased.

"Oh, yes, I'm the goddess of luck," Sakura said, rolling her eyes and accepting the menu the long-suffering waiter had been proffering. Quickly making her decision, Sakura returned her attention to the conversation.

"Come on, even Tenten thinks Itachi's attractive and you know she's never had a thing for anyone other than Neji."

Tenten flushed. "Hey!" she protested, "That was back when we were gennin. Ino's just baiting you," she said as she turned to Sakura.

Who in turn blinked, lost. The other two kunoichi sighed, thinking simultaneously, _Of course Neji would fall for the only kunoichi more dense than he is. _

"Well, anyway, congratulations on your promotion," Tenten said, her words only slightly shaded by envy.

"Thanks. Are you going to try for the jounin trials this year? You should, you know."

"And who would I get to be my partner? You know that there's still a teammate portion."

"Take Shino," Sakura replied immediately. "He's going to take the trials in any case. He's been more than ready for promotion for a while. Tsunade-shishou's been having some trouble finding him a partner. Most of the chunnin older than us are going to be career-chunnin, but there aren't many in our age group ready." Ino coughed significantly. "Sorry, Ino."

Ino sighed. "Yeah, maybe next year." She brightened abruptly. "But you'll never guess. Tsunade-sama agreed to take me on as an apprentice. My chakra control isn't as precise as yours, but I think I'll be able to do it."

Sakura smiled, happy for Ino, who'd always felt just a little constrained within the bounds of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, knowing that she'd follow in the footsteps of her father for most of her career. Maybe having something to call her own, unique from their age group, would help ameliorate that feeling. Sakura certainly knew that frustration and the freedom of being able to stand on her own two feet. She also wished her the best of luck in mastering a difficult art that Sakura had long ago resigned herself to failure in. Perhaps a different Sakura, in a different world, might have had success in healing, but she had neither the time nor the energy to spare for wasted effort.

"I think you'll do well. You might have to work a little on your bedside manner though."

Ino scowled. "Thanks."

"What are friends for?"

She spent another half-hour with Ino and Tenten, who still seemed rather cowed in conversation if not in battle by Ino's overwhelming personality, then left them so she could have the time to stare blankly off into the distance, perched on the head of the First Hokage. It wasn't as peaceful and empty as the view from Uchiha Madara's great statue at the Valley of the End, but from here she could see the village as small enough to cradle in her hands. Small enough to protect, even with her calloused hands. Her knees tucked tight against her chest, she also felt very small and insignificant, which she abhorred.

It didn't take her long to crush her nostalgia and make her way swiftly to the gate, her feet touching only lightly on the rooftops. _I wish it really was possible to use chakra to fly. I wonder if that might be what freedom feels like. _But she was not Suzaku, she was Byakko, king of the beasts, but still bound to the earth.

She was surprised to find Sai already there, but most of her surprise dissipated when she saw that he was sketching something furiously. He didn't even look up as she landed beside him, so Sakura simply sat quietly next to him. So she was unprepared when he spoke quietly.

"The Uchiha is suspicious."

"About what?"

"You."

Sakura was silent a moment, wondering if he'd somehow divined her secret. It wasn't impossible. Thanks to Sasuke, Itachi had loomed larger than life for so long, like some sort of vicious evil spirit, that she was no longer certain how much of his ability was reality and how much was rumor. What was clear after the time she had spent with him was that Itachi was that once-in-a-hundred-years genius, but she still wasn't ready to attribute mind-reading sans Sharingan to his list of abilities. "Should I be cautious?" she asked.

"If you have nothing to hide, do not worry. He is already aware of your association with Danzo. Unless you have some less savory secret, it would be impossible for him to think worse of you."

Sakura sighed. "Sai-chan, if you want to interact normally with people, you'll have to learn there are far less blunt ways to phrase things."

"Hmm. I will consider adding it to my course of study."

Sakura considered taking Ino up on her offer to take Sai out to 'socialize' him, but having once experienced that treatment once herself, she wasn't going to be quick to condemn anyone else to Ino's nights on the town. She took them just as seriously as Gai-sensei took taijutsu training. "There are a lot of things in this life, Sai-chan, that you can't learn from books."

"Perhaps they just aren't in Konoha's library?" Sai suggested.

Sakura laughed until she could feel tears gathering in the edges of her eyes, which was how Itachi and Neji discovered her. Standing, she swiped at the moisture with the palm of her hand. "That's it, we absolutely cannot rehabilitate Sai."

That caused Neji's brows to soar in question, but Itachi smiled, ever so faintly. "The others aren't here yet?"

"It is Kakashi-sempai."

"Aw. Sakura-chan, do you really think so badly of me?" Tilting her head back, Sakura blinked as Kakashi waved down from his perch on top the village wall.

"Yes," she said bluntly. "If I had to guess, Naruto has replicated himself and is currently scouring the village for you, so you came to the one place he wouldn't think to look. Exactly where you're supposed to be."

"I always knew you were my smartest student." Landing so lightly in the dust next to her that he didn't even leave footprints, he smiled so that his eyes crinkled shut. "So this is your dream team. I'm surprised it lacks a Nara."

"Having a Nara in your team would be the equivalent of shoving a boulder uphill for the rest of eternity. I'll leave him to Ino. She enjoys managing him, even if she'll never say it. It does make one curious though, about what she'll do after she marries him off. Maybe pick someone else out?"

"Maybe give up, steal him away, and marry him herself." Kakashi suggested.

Sakura scoffed. "That sounds like a plot from a bad novel. What do all you people read?"

"Things not written in archaic Chinese characters," Kakashi said archly. "You ought to try it, upon occasion."

"I do. Sometimes I stoop to reading things in archaic Japanese."

"Are you looking down on your native tongue?"

"Just facing the truth that most scholarly documents and treatises are written in stilted Chinese by people who couldn't even speak the language."

"You high-brow scholar you."

Before Sakura could reply, a loud yell pierced through the crowd through the marketplace. "Ka-ka-shi!"

"Oops, looks like Naruto spotted me," Kakashi said sheepishly, rubbing his hand through his thick silver hair.

"No kidding," Sakura said dryly, cocking her hip and resting a hand comfortably against it.

Naruto burst through the crowd, Hinata trailing confusedly close behind, one hand extended like she might grasp the collar of Naruto's tracksuit. He actually had enough clones that Sakura heard a distinct _pop_ as he dispelled them. "Kakashi-sensei," Naruto growled as he stomped up to the group.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted with an offhand salute, flopping open a tattered copy of _Icha Icha Violence_ to add insult to injury.

Before an argument could spark, Hinata intervened. "Hello, Sakura-san."

"Hinata-san. Welcome to the mission." Sakura punctuated her statement with a warm smile.

Hinata returned it shyly. "Umm…I'm glad to be accompanying you." She ducked her head in a slight bow.

Sakura's group returned the politeness, Neji bowing a shade deeper in deference to her main house position, though his superior rank would have normally excused him from it.

"Hinata!" Through the crowd, Sakura could just make out Kiba's hearty wave. He bounded across the space separating them. "Geez, you just took off when Naruto did. Give us some warning."

Hinata flushed. "Sorry, Kiba."

He waved off her apology. "No problem. Shino's on his way. With him, looks like that'll be everyone." Kiba eyed Sakura's group warily, his gaze focused more on Itachi than the others. "Been a while, Sakura."

"Yes. How's Akamaru been?"

"What, not going to ask how I've been?" Kiba asked with a teasing smile that revealed his pronounced canines. "Akamaru's been fine. Right, buddy?" The enormous dog at his hip barked in what she assumed was a resounding yes.

Shino glided out of the crowd, people parting easily around the distinctive Aburame get-up even in the deep summer, though autumn was fast approaching.

"Well, that's everyone from my team," Kakashi reported as Shino joined them wordlessly. "We're traveling together, but we squad captains have agreed to keep our own chain of commands intact. We are pursuing two separate objectives, so our authority shouldn't overlap. After completing their own classified S-rank mission, Sakura's squad will catch up to ours and lend us a hand, should we have any trouble. That clear? Yes? Good. Taichou, I think we're ready to move out," he said as he turned to Sakura.

Sakura rolled her eyes, reaching into her pack. She'd very carefully pinned her hair back while up on the Hokage monument, so the wig went on easily over her distinctive pink hair. Sliding pins in as Kakashi had his squad to one last pre-mission check, Sakura had to smirk at Naruto's impatience. Her wig was not the cheap synthetic kind available for children's pranks but rather was made of real human hair. It had an unnerving resemblance to Madara's as it fell down her shoulders in proud dark spikes.

She thought she saw Itachi start, but it seemed to be a trick of her imagination as his expression was concealed the next moment by his Genbu mask. Sai had chosen to portray the tortoise aspect of Genbu, rather than the serpent, which Sakura thought was fitting. She was tired of snakes in her life. Sai donned the blue dragon of Seiryu, Neji's was the fierce red bird of Suzaku, and Sakura donned the stark black and white mask of Byakko a few moments later.

It was only as she removed her hand that she noticed Naruto was staring. "You're so cool, Sakura-chan!"

"Thanks, Naruto." Her mask strangely mutated her voice, making it sound lower, more distant. "Now, let's move out."

Sakura allowed Kakashi, as the more experienced squad leader, to set the pace. She wasn't familiar enough with Kurenai's squad to judge how far and fast she could push them, spoiled as she was by working with Gai's team and ANBU-level operatives like Sai and Itachi.

As morning broke, Kakashi dropped back to speak with her. Naruto had been forging ahead, the other chunnin competing to catch up. Her squad had fallen into a steadier pace that they had maintained with ease throughout the night. "There's a smaller village coming up. The innkeeper there is one of Konoha's contacts. I know you might not want to take that much time out of our schedule, but we can catch a few hours of rest before Naruto burns himself out. It's been all night, but he still hasn't hit his stride yet."

Sakura glanced ahead and measured his assessment against Naruto's uneven stride, nodding shortly.

She regretted giving the okay the moment she saw their destination. Perched on the roof of a building across the street, she heard Naruto's sound of dismay from her right.

"Ninjas use these all the time. We shouldn't look out of place at all."

"A love hotel? That's one step up from a brothel, Kakashi-sensei! You're just as bad at the Pervy Sage!"

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, I'll be going in as one of the proprietress's special customers, so I'll let you decide how you want to check in. Remember, two hours only."

Sakura was fairly certain that if Hinata grew any redder she was going to faint. She played awkwardly with her fingers, glancing upon occasion at Naruto. Who remained oblivious. "With my Sexy no Jutsu, that'll take care of the rest of this team, but what about you, Sakura?"

Sakura took her mask off and indicated that her team members should do the same. If ninjas really did make a habit of stopping here, the masks would be unnecessary and draw more notice than going in unmasked. A pink brow rose at Naruto's question. "We'll just book one room. This kind of place, people will make up their own stories."

Naruto blinked. "Yeah. Like Jiraiya. I can see the title now. _ANBU Orgy: Pink Edition._"

"Then don't tell him. Or if you do tell him, demand a better title."

With a small cry of distress, Hinata toppled over. Shino caught her before she could fall off the roof, gathering her more securely in his arms before leaping down into the busy street below. Ten minutes later, a henged Naruto and Kiba followed.

"If Hiashi-sama hears about this, I will never live it down," Neji murmured, rubbing his fingers at his temples like he was trying to ward off a migraine. Sakura could still remember a time when he would have absolutely refused to pass through those doors, so she supposed it was an improvement.

"At least you can take a shower," Sakura offered diplomatically.

Neji shuddered. "I think I will avoid it."

"Our ten minutes are up," Sai said. "Shall we check in?"

Sakura took a deep breath, pretending an ease she did not feel. It was one thing to be blasé while on the rooftop, but another to make it past the front desk. Her group did earn some strange looks as they entered their destination, but she needn't have worried at the desk. The twenty-something blonde manning it looked like an entire shinobi war could be waged around her without ruffling her hair, pulled back so tightly Sakura thought it had to be uncomfortable.

"One room for two hours, please," Sakura requested.

Another patron whistled as he passed, one arm slung across a busty civilian woman's shoulders. It wasn't until they'd disappeared from sight that her brain told her just who the man had been. "That was Genma, wasn't it?" she asked weakly.

"Yes," Neji reported dully.

"Excellent," Sakura said under her breath, collecting the room key and handing over the money. If Genma knew the story was bound to find its way to Anko, who would then either deliberately spread it around or use it as blackmail. It was a sad comment on the situation that Sakura was hoping for the latter.

The room itself was better than she had hoped for, smelling strongly of bleach and other cleaners, for which she was grateful. It also had a wide western-style bed, which she immediately stripped of the comforter before collapsing onto the sheets. While housekeeping might change the sheets, she knew there was no guarantee they had changed the comforter and she was trying very hard not to remember what this room was usually used for.

After a moment she opened her eyes, to find her boys standing awkwardly just inside the door. Or, rather, Itachi and Neji were standing awkwardly just inside the door. Sai had only paused to drop his pack, then he joined her on the bed, turning on his side so she could stare into his eyes, which were so dark she could not make out where pupil ended and iris began.

And then his pale, pale eyelids fluttered closed and with the ease of a true shinobi his breathing evened out. Sakura glanced back at the other two, who still hadn't moved. "This might be the only rest we get today. Take advantage of it while you can," she advised.

A/N: Am I a tease? Absolutely. How will Itachi and Neji respond to Sakura's invitation? Find out next time on _ANBU Orgy: Pink Edition. _Just kidding.


	28. When Dreaming in Scarlet

Disclaimer: If I owned this story, I wouldn't disappear for copious amounts of time to work on my original fiction.

A/N: That being said, thank you to everyone who's supported my throughout this story. Your interest and enjoyment is the reason why, even when I was having those self-conscious panic attacks authors seem to be prone to, I continued ahead regardless. And after the reviews I got on the last chapter, I thought to myself it's a pity that I'm trying to keep everyone in character. So here's my compromise (and this is one of the beauties of writing fanfiction and having immediate feedback from readers): following the main body of this chapter which contains the canon story will be an M-rated omake. It won't be too graphic for fear of 's regulations, but if you are under the legal age or disapprove, scroll on through. I'm not including it in a separate chapter for those people who don't read author's notes and will be going "What the heck?!" So please enjoy.

Also, for all those people in those reviews who pointed out I connected Sai's name with two masks: Sai painted all the designs for the Shishin. Translations of the norito in this chapter are again not mine, copyright belongs to Ann Evans, ISBN 155369138-5.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

When Dreaming in Scarlet

Neji felt the cold prickle of sweat at the nape of his neck. _What's going on? _he asked himself. He'd shared a bed with Sakura before. He'd shared a bed, a futon, the grass beneath an endless autumn sky, and he'd done it as a brother, a bodyguard, a husband, and a thousand things in between. Almost the greater part of his career had been spent with Sakura. During that time, he'd had the unconditional support of his team, the Hyuuga had begun to feel more like a family and less like a cage, and Sakura's unwavering friendship.

What had Sakura had during that time? A family that seemed to afford her privilege but no real warmth, the harried mentorship of a Hokage who could barely complete her paperwork let alone train an apprentice, the occasional visit from Kakashi? No, he was misjudging her friends, he knew that. It was easier to make the miseries of friends greater than they really were. Yamanaka Ino had been unfailing and near unflagging in her quest to keep her friend connected with others her age.

This had been their quiet, unstrained companionship for three years. Before Sai. Before _Itachi_. Yes, that had to be it. Silver-white eyes slid to his right to glance at the elder Uchiha. Being a Hyuuga predisposed him to dislike of the upstart branch of the family who'd twisted the doujutsu that was their birthright, but knowing what he did about the rebellion and how badly Sakura had taken Sasuke's betrayal, he was not about to trust a man who'd been a key figure in both incidents.

Itachi did not seem to be thrown by Sakura's careless invitation. Instead he stepped gracefully out of the path of the door and settled on the floor, adopting a meditation posture. "Thank you for your concern, taichou, but I will be fine here."

Sakura's eyes danced over to Neji and he tried not to scowl. This was almost as bad as traveling with the green-clad menaces. Admitting that he would like to rest would be difficult now. Not that he needed it, necessarily, but it was always best to rest on missions when the opportunity presented itself. There was no guarantee of rest once they began to track Danzo in earnest.

He surprised himself with the thought, _I wish only Sakura were here. _He contended himself with silently mirroring Itachi's position, closing his eyes to catch what rest he could. The battles would begin soon enough.

-X-X-X-

It was strange, Sakura decided, to be the one discussing modifying their route based on the more current information, she and Kakashi bent over a map while their squads waited upon their decision. It was such a little thing, but it again reminded her of her changed position and responsibilities. As a chunnin, unlike Shikamaru, she hadn't had the opportunity to lead many teams. Oh, she'd done her share. It was part of the requirements for promotion to jounin.

But most of her time had been spent in the silent, destructive service of Danzou or in frustrated apprenticeship to the Hokage. The missions with Neji did not count. There was too much give-and-take, too much comfort between them for truly autocratic leadership on either side, though when they'd been younger there had been tense missions where both had been trying to edge the other out. They'd very nearly failed one mission when they had both been convinced that their way was the only correct on to achieve their objective. They'd split up, been ambushed, and only through cunning on her part, skill on Neji's, and compromise had they come through triumphant. It had been a learning moment and from that moment forward, they'd established that whomever had the skills more suited to the mission led and the other followed.

Now that was no longer the case. Sakura was outclassed by the skills of her own team. Sai had served Danzou from the deepest reaches of his memory and Itachi was, well, Itachi. She wasn't even certain Kakashi could face him on even footing. But it was not their command. It was hers and she was determined that this mission would succeed.

"We'll have to part ways soon. You'll need to veer 23 degrees to the east to intercept your target, here," she said, finger landing on a tiny town that the patroness had identified as being associated with Akatsuki. They were assuming that Sasuke hadn't yet heard of Sakura's coup in bringing Itachi back to the village. It hadn't been publicized, Sakura insistent that they keep the information confidential until such a time that it was convenient to lure Sasuke back. She had wanted to be in control of every detail of her third and final encounter with Sasuke, from the place where they would do battle to his emotional state as he entered the fight.

But Danzo had destroyed all that.

She was curious as to why he would jeopardize himself like this, going after Sasuke. If she had learned anything while serving Tsunade-shishou, it was no political maneuver was absolute. The orders that she had delivered to Tsunade-shishou were damning, to a certain extent, but more than even the elders, Danzo was canny and entrenched. He could spin the incident to his advantage, producing evidence that the drastic action had been needed to save the village and that the massacre had actually reduced the number of casualties that would have resulted if the incident had sparked a full-blown civil war.

And the damnable thing would be that not a word of it would be a lie. There was nothing in the world more damaging, from sheer numbers lost to the psychological impact, than civil war. Sakura could understand the need to suppress it. The Uchiha had been an insular clan of moderate size. Their loss could, under certain conditions, be defined as acceptable, especially when Konohagakure incurred no casualties.

_Compassion is only a conceit that the weak practice to excuse their impotency_, Madara's thought rumbled through her. _When you feel pity, you open yourself to something other than the utter devastation of your enemy. Doubt is the gate to defeat. So never doubt your cause, else you be destroyed with it. _

_ My cause? All I want is to-_her mind recognized what she was saying before she even finished the thought-_keep the peace in Konoha and to protect my village. But not as Danzo did. _

_ Is that what you truly believe? Danzo was destroyed by his disappointed ambition. His dream became twisted and he lost sight of all he had hoped to achieve. That is why he pursues Uchiha Sasuke rather than shoring up his position. In his heart, he has already foretold his own death. _

_ But why, of all people, would he be after Sasuke? He isn't even a direct threat to the village. _

_ That is beyond the insight I can offer. Just recall that a man with no dream, no hopes, and no goals is a dangerous man. You need not worry of suffering his fate, though. I will make certain that we never die so lost. _

That did not reassure her. "Is something wrong?" Kakashi asked. "You have a strange look on your face."

"Contemplating our mission," Sakura answered.

Kakashi looked back to the map. "You've chosen a good team. Whatever your mission is, I'm sure you'll accomplish it."

Sakura glanced dryly over at him. She was certain that Kakashi knew exactly what was going on, but he would never say so. His reassurance was welcome, though. Sakura took a deep breath to dispel her nervousness, then slid her mask back over her face.

"My team and I will take our leave now," she told him. "We'll rendezvous with you after we secure our objective. Shall we keep the original coordinates for the meeting site if you acquire the Uchiha and his team more quickly than expected?"

Kakashi rolled up the map. "With Naruto straining at the leash, I wouldn't be surprised. I think it should be fine. Unless you want me to find another interesting rendezvous point?" His smile was teasing.

"Haha. Not a chance." She saluted him casually. "Ja ne, Kakashi-sempai."

"Ja ne."

-X-X-X-

It was Sakura's first time wearing the white duster of a ANBU team leader. While in private she could wear the modified uniform she'd worn while training, the moment she left the village she was required to divest herself of clan insignia like the Haruno crest and her uniform had to conform to official standards. Official standards, that while quite striking and attractive on her teammates, were quite monotonous and boring when stripped of the honor of belonging to ANBU.

The dusters, white for her and a stolid black for her squad members, concealed even gender when required to act in a public function. She could remember the ANBU who had been on the Hokage's protection detail during her chunnin exam wearing them. She only hoped that this mission had a better end result.

Danzo sat atop a flat rock that an ancient tree had rooted itself to like it was a throne, his Root guards spread like the v of a flight of geese in front of him. This was one of the small strands of hardy forest in what was generally cliff country, a kind of oasis in an unforgiving sandstone desert.

"Speak your peace and then leave," Danzo ordered her as she approached. "I already know what you have to say anyway," he grumbled.

It shocked Sakura that, in a very faint and strange place in her heart, she was sad to do this to Danzo. Like any good villain, he could be depended upon to have a scheme in place at just the right moment to catch the enemy unawares. In the past, his enemy and hers had often been the same. He had ordered her to do terrible things, but he had also taught her much. Perhaps more than he intended. Or perhaps not. It would not surprise her that if, even in his death, he intended to serve the village he had safeguarded his entire life with a brutality and ruthlessness that could have squeezed blood from a stone. In his own way, Danzo had also wanted only the best for the village. But he would have had it walk a path of conquest. He was a tyrant out of the time when such leaders might have been needed. He should have been born even before the First, she thought sadly. Then he might have been hailed as a mighty leader. He might have even established his own village. Unfortunately, there was no longer a need for such a soldier.

_We beseech the kami to purify our path so that we may fulfill our divine mission. _

Sakura reached into her coat and pulled from it the letter sealed with the personal sigil of the Hokage. She delivered it into Danzo's bandaged hands and waited in silence while he read the short message.

_ Remove every sort of obstacle._

"Hn," he said thoughtfully. "So the princess has found what she needs to get rid of me at last." He turned his gaze to her, as if he could peer right through the porcelain of her mask. "I assume this was your doing?" 

_ Correct our path for renewed health._

Someone shifted minutely behind her. She did not know if it was Neji or Sai. Danzo laughed. "I hope Tsunade understands what she's getting into. That's the thing about tigers. They do not tolerate weakness. Even if it's their own blood, they will not hesitate to throw them down when they come of age and it is time for them to take territory. They call female tigers queens, but they are alone for most of their life. I truly chose your mask well, Sakura." 

_ We originate from the same root as Heaven and Earth; _

Sakura fought not to flinch. She had never truly offered him her loyalty, but she had been with him longer than she had Team Seven. If she had been able to serve him with every appearance of compliance and come out unchanged, she would be inhuman. Perhaps Neji was right to be suspicious of Itachi and lingering sympathies for the Akatsuki's agenda. "Hai, Danzo-sama," she answered instead.

_ We pray that the kami help us realize spiritual fullness. _

"Very well," Danzo said at last, standing stiffly. "Then let us bring this be an end. This battle will decide everything." And for the first time since she had known him, she saw Danzo unwrap the bandages on his arm. What she saw beneath was almost enough to make her ill. She could feel shock emanate from Itachi.

For instead of battle wounds, the pale, wrinkled flesh hosted unblinking eyes, all in Sharingan crimson.

"Danzo-sama, what have you done?!" Sakura demanded.

"Did you really believe that I would allow our village to lose all that power?" Danzo sneered, falling into a combat stance, the ten ninja flanking him also preparing their weapons.

"No," she whispered. "No, I didn't. I just didn't think you would take it like this." The impulse to attempt the battle was there, but she severed it ruthlessly. All that mattered was to win. Not who accomplished it. "Genbu."

"Hai." Itachi's voice sounded strained. As if it took effort to maintain his usual stoicism in the face of the atrocity committed upon the bodies of his family. Because he probably knew as well as she did that only a fresh transplant would take, though she did not know where Danzo had found a medic skilled enough to make eyes live in his arms. He couldn't have taken them from the bodies of the clan members Itachi had killed. No, he would have had to harvest them himself.

"Shimura Danzo has declined to return to the village. In sight of this, he is to be eliminated without reservation. Is that understood?" She hoped it was not too soon for Itachi. Sakura wouldn't be able to give him and his battle much attention. There were ten ANBU Root members who would also need to be eliminated between the three remaining members of her squad.

It was poor odds.

_Even for things most impure, even if things are left incomplete and in disarray, respectfully I ask that the kami hear these words and grant complete purification and clarity, both within and without. _

Without any sort of signal, suddenly the battle was raging. Sakura blocked an array of shuriken with her duster, shedding it as quickly as she could. Her enemy tried to take advantage of the moment her sight was blocked, but Sakura had also used that moment when the white fabric was between them. She knew the ninja would be expecting her to substitute herself and appear behind him, so she thwarted his expectation, grabbing his wrist through the fabric of the duster, drawing him close like she would kiss his neck, spitting a number of the tiny poisoned needles she'd nipped from the holder at her wrist the moment her face had been covered.

Instinctively, like being stung by a bee, the shinobi slapped at the needles, only driving them deeper. Even as he staggered backward, his face began to bloat as his throat swelled, the poison inflaming his flesh. It was only a matter of time before he suffocated.

Sakura flickered a glance toward where Itachi and Danzo battled, but she could follow neither of their movements with her eyes. But then her focus had to return to the battle at hand as she leaped into the trees to avoid a pair of the Root ninja who'd attempted to flank her, long dark ponytails fluttering like war flags in wind their speed produced.

From the way they handled their ninja-to, she assumed they were weapons specialists. She dropped, slothlike, beneath a branch to avoid being impaled when a third ninja burst from the trees above her.

_Divide your enemy. _

This was why she hated open combat. Will-o-wisp's Bog was generally her best option in this situation, but the environment was unsuited for it. And the fog wouldn't only obscure the eyesight of her opponents, but her allies as well.

She settled first for a more basic genjutsu as a ploy, one that made it seem to her opponents that the trees were reaching out to grab them. Only one of her attackers fell for it, the others dismissing the illusion easily. Unfortunately, she thought sourly, he didn't take long enough for her to kill him in the meantime as she flipped back onto the branch, turning her body slightly to the side to avoid a killing blow from one of the tailed-twins.

Sakura kicked out, sending him flying into the trunk of the tree, but he staggered back, bruised but unharmed. To all appearances. Sakura felt even Tsunade-shishou could safely bet that he was bleeding internally. But internal bleeding was unpredictable. He could stagger around for hours yet before he died.

Sakura still had her leg extended as she had to press herself flat against the branch, thanking the kami for flexibility training that allowed her to press her knee into her chest without discomfort. Channeling chakra into that extended legs, she used it like a pole to summersault upward and over the head of tailed-twin number two, who failed to appreciate the level of skill it took her in Crane Dance to disable his right arm by stabbing at nerve clusters in his shoulder.

Any sense of victory was quickly smothered when he simply transferred his sword to his left hand. _Damn you, Danzo, for being a thorough leader and training your operatives to be ambidextrous. _Twin number one managed to get partially past her hasty kunai block, slicing open a gash in her forearm, but before he could bear down and cut sever something more major Sakura allowed herself to fall from their branch.

She reached into her pack as she plummeted to the ground, taking out two glass balls filled with more of the poison she'd used against Sasuke. Grimly she assessed the way the wind was flowing between the trees and how close her squad was. Too close. None of them had her resistance to the poison. Sliding them back into the pouch, she instead swiped her fingers through the freely flowing blood. As soon as her fingers touched the earth, she activated her summoning seal. It was always easier to summon to tigers in connection with the ground. "Kagasuki Boshi!"

The tiger that twisted through the fading smoke not as large as Ekie Boshi, which made him more suited to battle in the closed environment of the trees. It did not make Kagasuki any less deadly. He was thin almost to the point of gauntness, his hipbones like great blades beneath a pelt striped in black and steel grey with a strange green tint. His eyes drooped like he never fully woke, but the irises were the milk-white of a blind man.

His voice rolled and echoed in his chest like thunder, the deep-toned bells chiming on anklets wrapped around his rear paws. "Shishou, there is an ill wind."

"Kagasuki!" Sakura yelled up at the tiger before he could begin to offer prophecy, drawing Sasuke's sword smoothly as she retreated to relative safety between the tiger's paws. Whereas Ekie Boshi would grumble and help and Subaru would demand something that smelled of her, Kagasuki lived within an elaborate roleplay. "There are those who stand against my kingdom!"

Those milky eyes stared out at the wary Root, who had separated so they did not make an easy target. From behind her she heard the roar of a great fire, but she didn't turn. "Who would dare to interfere with your righteous rule, shishou? Who dares stand against the one who bears the favor of heaven?"

"Look before you, Kagasuki Boshi! Behold the unrighteous and the impure. It is they who bring the stain of death and decay upon us. Let the weight of their unclean acts be turned against them!" she intoned, feeling only slightly ridiculous. For Kagasuki's special ability made all the grandstanding worth it.

The tiger inhaled and the leaves shifted with his breath and the whole world seemed to still. And then he roared. It was like the fiercest wind whipped in from across stormy waters. Trees shivered and broke, birds took flight and then tumbled to earth, breaking themselves as they impacted. For Kagasuki's breath was laced with poison that hung so heavy in the air it was a spreading black haze.

It advanced like it was a sentient creature, tendrils rushing towards the ANBU that had been hiding in the trees. Sakura's mouth sat in a grim line of satisfaction. All the elements could be countered, but it was difficult to counter poison, especially one that seeped in through the pores in the skin.

It did not kill, which was a pity. Kagasuki's poison was somnolent and it visited the recipient with every act he had ever been ashamed of in a rondo of dreams that could literally kill with guilt. Sakura did not know if the ANBU agents even felt shame, but she dashed forward as Kagasuki's cloying breath stunned the Root but did not disable them.

Yet another shame, that. Like many topical poisons, it was slower to act than something digested. Sakura brought down her weapon in a crashing blow, wishing for a moment she could use lightning or wind chakra to lend it an unnatural edge, but she satisfied herself with her chakra-enhanced strength, which shattered the inferior blade just the same.

A second stroke took off his head. His companion managed to, with a frantic death cry, sheathe his blade deep in her shoulder, but Sakura pivoted on one heel, yanking the sword from his trembling hands. With her free hand, she smashed her open palm into his chest and his heart literally leaped out his back as his upper torso erupted from the lash of chakra she had put into the strike. It was Shifting Sands in its purest form. Her hand spasmed, but she flexed it out as she knocked three kunai from the air as she turned to face her last opponent.

He looked like he could barely stand upright, but was still intent on killing her. He was even supporting himself by leaning against a tree. Sakura bared her teeth at him behind her mask, snapping the Root member's blade still wedged in her shoulder in a show of strength and throwing the bloody sword tip so that it wedged in the tree only inches from the ANBU's masked face, quivered. She reached behind her and pulled out hilt-end of the sword, letting it drop to the ground where the sparse grass and loam muffled the sound of its fall.

Rather than charging in, the Root operative spoke. "Danzo-sama had something he wished me to tell you in the event of his death."

The fire was still roaring behind her and she'd heard great swathes of forest being eliminated and she could still almost feel the hostile chakras playing against her skin. Danzo was doing unexpectedly well against Itachi. It was only when she heard Kagasuki roar in pain and outrage that she was distracted. Half-turning to see the tiger, who'd been locked in combat with a strange beast that had rear talons like an eagle and a long nose like an elephant that had blasted away the cloud of poison nearest the tiger.

She'd thought the ANBU agent almost unable to move, but his last step was almost only a flicker in her peripheral vision. He knocked her mask of with the hilt of a kunai, already removing his own. If he'd slit her throat or put out her eyes, she wouldn't have been surprised, but he crushed her toward him to kiss her instead, his tongue forcing her lips to part.

It was not until she felt the rush of foreign chakra that she understood. Her hand, almost by reflex, had guided a kunai beneath his diaphragm and up into his heart. There was a sucking noise as he stumbled away from her, tumbling to the ground an empty shell. Sakura stared blankly ahead. It took almost all the energy in her body to turn to see the black flames burning in the part of the forest that had become a hellish wasteland.

Before her, the tiger and the Baku engaged in a battle that was like a storm and as the winds collided, she couldn't avoid being slammed into a tree. Her vision was hazy, but she did not know if it was a concussion or the fuinjutsu. Her small seal between her toes, the one that had allowed her to open doors in the Root compound, had felt nothing like this. It was almost like being ridden by Madara.

The seal spread from the roof of her mouth and she could feel the dark lines of chakra leaking across her skin. "Danzo-sama?" she croaked.

Inside her mind, she could feel things shift. Was he manipulating her thoughts? What kind of ability was that? If she had a coherent mind, perhaps she wouldn't have been aware of it. But she was what she was, so she and the other inhabitants of her mind watched with interest as thoughts and memories shifted.

In her hazy state, she almost saw herself suspended in the air above a great black pit in the depths of which something as black as the darkness shifted restlessly. Above her, in three platform-like apparitions, she could see each of the Three Kingdoms. Each of the manifestations had their eyes focused on a different point. Orochimaru as the dark-haired youth she'd become familiar with long ago was watching the patterns on the vaulted sky, but he spared her a brief smirk. Haku was crouched on the very edge of where sand was slowly draining into the abyss, staring down into the darkness where Amanozako waited. And Madara, Madara was watching her with eyes that burned.

She watched as her conviction shifted. Sakura had been certain that there were only two remaining Uchiha. Now she suspected there was a third. Why would she suspect such a thing? The manipulation of her thoughts provided no such helpful hint, though it revealed to her why he had been chasing Uchiha Sasuke.

That third Uchiha was growing closer to encountering Sasuke and for some reason, Danzo thought that would be very bad. As in, lead an attack and massacre innocents in the village bad. Danzo had resigned himself to being stripped of his power. But he had anticipated what Sasuke might do if told that Itachi had been told to murder the clan. So he had wanted to make the village safe, once again, by eliminating Sasuke and this third Uchiha, if he could manage to do so.

_You are the inheritor of _my _will of fire_. That thought rang very clear, even though Sakura was certain that she shouldn't have a memory of him saying that aloud.

Her mouth moved and she could vaguely feel that it aped her movement in the real world. "Hai, Danzo-sama." A single warm tear dripped down her cheek. She had hated and despised Danzo for so long, but it had been mingled by admiration if not affection.

"Are you crying for him or are you crying for yourself, Sakura-chan?" Orochimaru asked slyly. Was she seeing a vision of herself in the future, dying aged, withered, and misunderstood by a village she had treasured?

"Why did he challenge you to battle?" Haku asked. "It doesn't make any sense. He must have known he would lose."

_Lose. _The word rang large in her mind. Her mind and her body were suddenly one again and she shouted, "Kagasuki! We have been deceived!" Milk-white eyes swung to regard her as he held the battered Baku down. "Seal away the flames!"

Turning to eye the great fire she knew instinctively was Itachi's, Sakura didn't even hesitate to watch as Kagasuki turned toward the black flames. This time, as she rode the wind of his roar, where a great unspoken seal lay dormant, she closed her eyes, seeking out Itachi. _There. _He was grappling with Danzo, it seemed. There was something very strange about all this.

But that was something to think of later, at she stepped between two of the strongest shinobi that Konoha had ever known. "Stop," she commanded coldly as she caught Danzo's fist in a crushing grip and blocked Itachi's attack awkwardly with Kusanagi.

"Taichou?" Itachi questioned.

Danzo frowned.

"I am sorry, Danzo-sama, but I cannot let you take the easy way out. If the situation with Sasuke disturbs you so much, you will help to rectify it."

Danzo's eyes narrowed and it was only now she realized that he had two and one was a Sharingan, the pattern new and unfamiliar. "Kotoamatsukami is a jutsu to manipulate a person's thoughts without them being aware of it. How did you-?"

"I don't think that is important at the moment. Itachi," Sakura demanded, "is there a third Uchiha survivor?"

Itachi went very still and wary next to her.

"I see," Sakura remarked. "Perhaps this was a case of poor communication. Tell me, Danzo-sama, why you would have let us kill you? If you were going to be a matyr, it would have been to nothing but secrecy."

Danzo sighed and straightened. Itachi mirrored him, the kunai he had been holding disappearing. Sakura noticed that several of the eyes on Danzo's arms were now closed. "Because I am an old man. I wanted to make certain that my plans would continue after my death. I am not so arrogant as you might think."

Sakura regarded him carefully. She was almost certain she knew what had been manipulated and what had not been. If anyone might know that, it was Orochimaru and she sent the thought searing through her mind, hoping that Madara would relay her the answer since he no longer allowed contact with the other Kingdoms in her waking world.

Itachi almost echoed her thoughts. "Taichou, are you certain you're not being manipulated? I am familiar with the Kotoamatsukami."

"I am being manipulated," Sakura admitted baldly, "but not in the manner you might think. I am, apparently, Danzo's heir apparent and he wanted me to be certain his estate was in order. But I think it would be best if he took care of it himself." She glared at him suspiciously. "I think there are things he would have kept secret even in death. But before we have this discussion, call off your Root. Let's not shed any more blood today."

Danzo nodded shortly and soon the remaining five Root and her team were standing by. Sai and Neji, at least, seemed very confused by the sudden turn of events, but the Root agents were stoic as always. Four of the five were badly injured. As it turned out, it was her hands that had spilled the most Konoha blood upon the ground today and there was a nagging guilt about that fact that ate at her.

But she ignored it in favor of explaining the situation to her team. Itachi was silent, but Sakura knew him well enough now to perceive that Danzo wasn't the only one keeping secrets.

_This situation only grows more complex, _Madara commented.

_No kidding, _Sakura returned snidely.

"I am curious, Haruno-taichou," Itachi asked and there was something about his tone that made her wary, "but how were you able to tell that Danzo was manipulating your thoughts?"

"Well, Kakashi-sempai has had his Sharingan for a long time, but he still hasn't mastered it. Perhaps Danzo-sama doesn't have full control of the technique either?"

She did not think either Danzo or Itachi believed her, but neither pressed her further.

"So, what's the plan, hag?" Sai asked.

Sakura took a deep breath. "Now we go after Sasuke. And maybe meet this 'third Uchiha.'"

A/N: Well, there it is. Chapter twenty-eight. Now onto twenty-nine, which will be the beginning of the Shinobi World War arc.

**-STOP READING NOW IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO ENCOUNTER SMUT-**

(A Reminder: This is my version of fan-service, it is not canon to Five Kingdoms)

(This will be M-rated. You have been warned. This reads like erotica-of the non-explicit sort as required by FF's guidelines.)

Sakura held her breath for a heartbeat after the words escaped her mouth, watching anxiously to make sure her teammates wouldn't misinterpret. There was nothing that sapped the respect due a female squad leader quicker than sleeping with her squad members, except maybe rumors that she was sleeping with them.

But except for a tiny quirk of Itachi's lips and a stiffening of Neji's spine, there was no response to her ill-thought out words.

A tiny piece of her was disappointed. That was probably Anko's influence-she would be the first to tell her that if the rumors were kinky enough, it might win her respect instead of losing it. Only among the ninja population, of course.

Sakura rolled onto her stomach so she wouldn't have to feel Sai's breath on her eyelashes, but she couldn't relax. "Do you ever wish you'd given the village something to really talk about?"

She didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until Neji asked, "What do you mean?"

Sakura rolled over and sat up, speaking to the two ninja who'd positioned themselves like the lion and the Korean dog guarding the door. "I mean, with the exception of Itachi's mass murderer thing," and the ninja in question cocked a brow at the casual dismissal of a heinous act, "what do people say about you? That you're a prodigy, a genius? That you espouse the ideal of the Hyuuga house? Those are all dehumanizing labels. This child's a genius, this one's a prodigy, and that's fine, but what are they like as a person? Everyone knows that Naruto loves ramen, has a least one story of a prank he's pulled, and they're always gossiping about this and that. What do they say about you, Neji? Or me, for that matter? Or even Itachi?"

She pulled her legs up into her chest. "All that we are is in a single word: shinobi. But that's a weapon, not a person. I just wish, sometimes, that people wouldn't assume that I'm happy with _just _being the Hokage's knife in the dark. If they even know that much about me," she said bitterly. "It's not that I'm complaining-no, maybe I am. All I know is that, when I became chunnin, and even when I advanced to jounin, I was invisible. My style's not that flashy and I don't have a clan with history. Haruno's a prestigious name in some circles, but it's adjectives are staid, respectable, and constant. It's a family that swallows you up. You are important as a Haruno, but not as a person. Surely you must know what I mean."

Surprisingly, it was Itachi that answered her. "When I was growing up, I was hailed as a genius. But it was not a genius built on my own strengths. According to everyone around me, I was because I was born into greatness as an Uchiha. My father, especially, was the worst. He took everything that I did for granted. I did not mind, at first. I have never had to work as hard as those around me. So maybe I thought I deserved to be called a genius. But after a while, I became 'the Uchiha prodigy.' Even to my younger brother. There were days when I doubted anyone but my mother remembered my name. But I could not fail their expectations. So everything that was not in line with how their worldview, I stopped. After a few years, only my mother and my cousin remembered that I liked sweets. I think, perhaps, that I once liked to read when I was young. But I can't even remember now what kind of novels I liked best."

Neji cleared his throat awkwardly, staring suspiciously at the Uchiha. "My clan-it is difficult to be yourself in the Hyuuga clan. But I suppose that is the case in most traditional families. Or maybe families in general. And you are right in saying that when people say that I am a prodigy, they also say it is because I am a Hyuuga. But that does not bother me. Hinata is the firstborn daughter and is even more invisible than I am."

"So you aren't unsatisfied living like this?" Sakura asked, frustration knit tightly into the words.

Neji was silent for a moment. "Sakura," and he shocked her a little, addressing her like that, "you have to understand, this is more than I have ever had. When I competed in the chunnin exams, I expected to be punished for not knowing my place in the clan. Not to be mentored by Hiashi-sama. To be respected by Hinata-sama, who knows my favorite teas as well as you do. And I'm perhaps _too_ close to my team," he said with a touch of irony. "Gai-sensei wouldn't know a melancholic worldview if it stepped up to him and introduced himself."

"You've never wanted to give Konoha something to _talk _about?" The word this time had a foreign lilt. One she'd heard Ino use, but never used herself. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, perhaps it was sense that her world could end the moment she caught up to Danzo, to Sasuke, and her elaborate masquerade was all torn away.

And just as she had never addressed someone who wasn't a mark and therefore didn't count, using that tone, Neji had never been the one to whom it was seriously addressed. There had been harmless teasing, role playing within the safe bounds of cover personas, but now he was dumbfounded. He settled for neutrality, not knowing if she was only saying it, not knowing if she _meant _it. Because if she did, things would change.

His hesitation cost him. Neji had grown up in the closeted, reserved atmosphere of the Hyuuga clan and his manner turned away all but the most lewd propositions, none of which he'd been willing to take up once he came of an age to be interested in sex. Puberty for Hyuuga Neji had mostly passed him by unnoticed, consumed as he was by his development as a ninja.

Not so constrained was Uchiha Itachi. He'd spent his formative years with the temperamental Uchiha clan and there'd been many older women eager to introduce the gifted boy to all sorts of pleasures. After all, winning his heart as well as his body carried the chance of netting the title of matriarch of the Uchiha clan. And Itachi, raised to be a gentleman, never disappointed a woman. And as of this moment, his captain had just asked him to look beyond the mask and armor they all wore to see her as a person. Part of that person was a budding sensuality that had been ruthlessly crushed and tightly bound in her quest for worth as a shinobi. "Perhaps, captain," and he gave the word a sly twist that she was free to respond to or ignore, "you are tired of just _talking_ and being talked about. Perhaps," he suggested, "you want to substantiate a rumor?"

Sakura's heart tripped over itself in its hurry to rush blood to her cheeks, but she fought the blush down. Once upon a time, she'd been a girl who knew what she wanted. She'd shed things that really _mattered_ in her pursuit of Sasuke. She wasn't so naive she didn't understand what Itachi was offering to her. In Konoha, there was only one fierce rumor that could be applied to this situation. And Itachi was offering it to her without demanding she sacrifice anything except her hymen, which likely wouldn't even be intact after the rigors she'd put her body through as a kunoichi.

"Hag, I have read that being indecisive during intercourse is one of the greatest causes of sexual dissatisfaction."

Sakura took a long, patient breath. "Sai. Timing, timing, timing." She flicked his forehead and he blinked, looking confused. "There is this thing called atmosphere. You just destroyed it."

Sai sighed and sat up. "It looked to me like I was only interrupting the period where you watch the Uchiha hop about the subject like he's a bird of paradise in the spring and you decide that your enormous complex comes before carnal satisfaction and everyone goes to be frustrated." He leaned forward, searching her expression for something. "You only have two hours. If you intend to make the Hyuuga take your virginity, I recommend starting soon. You'll have to overrule his outraged objections."

"Neji?" Sakura squeaked.

"Because if you choose the Uchiha, he will never forgive you," he said baldly.

"Sai, if you don't stop saying nonsense, I"ll-," Neji never got to finish his threat as Sai cut him off.

"Turn your painfully obvious sexual jealousy against me? I am the only man in this room that has seen Sakura naked, after all. That should be much more provoking than red-eye's resemblance to a boy she thought she loved when she was twelve."

Neji's fists clenched, but he could make no argument. Leashing his temper, he found Sakura watching him cautiously, curiously. "Neji," she said hesitantly, "you know I would never do anything to hurt you, outside of a sparring match. You've been there in the dark times and the bright. I don't think this is something I can casually as of you, of all people. I like and respect you too much to use you like that. So," and she winced, "if you could look in on Hinata or something? This is the most dangerous mission she's been on," she prompted.

Neji's voice was flat. "And Sai?"

Sakura didn't quite meet his eyes. "He's going to go listen in on the information Kakashi's supposed to be collecting from the proprietress."

"After that speech about recognizing people as human beings, you realize you've all but admitted you'll be using Uchiha-san," Neji said coldly. "I've thought many things about you, Sakura, but I didn't realize you were a hypocrite. How _dare_ you try to decide this for me. Sakura, you're right to say that I won't let you use me as a one-time encounter, but for once, Sai might have a point. If you let Itachi..." he found he couldn't even vocalize the thought. He was standing without realizing he'd moved.

Sakura's hips twitched, like a cat might flick its tail when it sees something interesting. "Would you...," she licked suddenly dry lips and tried again, "would you come over and say that to me?" she challenged.

Neji's eyes narrowed and he stalked across the room to the bed, but Sakura wriggled backwards until she was out of convenient reach, forcing him to come to her. It was awkward and in any other situation it would have been degrading to crawl across a mattress on his knees to make a point, but he was beginning to become caught in the pace of Sakura's game.

He could have used his body to trap her against the headboard, but he knew Sakura did not respond well to being cornered. And that was not what he wanted in any case. He did not want to _make _her choose him. He wanted her to choose him of her own accord, as her first lover. Because he knew Sakura. If she was going to live the rumor, she was going to do it well.

It was less awkward than he'd feared. They were each familiar with how the other moved in battle, so it was no great feat to tip their heads just so, Sakura's lips surprisingly soft against his. There was so little soft about her anymore.

Their first kiss was the soft press of lips, noninvasive, like children holding hands. Their second was more confident, but still not proprietary, a kind of give and take as they explored the unfamiliar contours of their partner's body through that single point of contact.

Pulling back, he was pleased to see that Sakura blushed, though he was blushing as well. "You know, I always imagined my first time as a little more traditional than this. Less people."

"Be grateful there's a bed," Neji advised.

"Oh, I am. I could see this being much more awkward and complicated." She glanced at both Sai and Itachi, not quite making eye contact. "So...?"

Itachi sighed, standing from where he'd still been sitting beside the door, coming to stand beside the bed. "Don't over think this," he advised. "All you have to do is feel."

Sakura frowned at him but did not argue, reaching down to begin undoing her armor.

"Ah." It was a single syllable, but Sakura glared at him.

"You said all I had to do is feel and I felt like I should take my clothes off."

"Don't you think it might be more interesting if your partner does it?"

Sakura glared. "Are you going to provide running criticism? If so, I might change my mind."

"Sex isn't something you have by yourself. That's masturbation. Take your partner's feelings into consideration."

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose. "Her partner also thinks that the coach is unnecessary. Let Sakura do as she pleases."

Sakura shot Itachi a superior look, but then her expression turned playful. She tackled Neji, nearly knocking him off the bed, doing her best impression of the cat that caught the canary as she ran a taunting finger in a line that traced from his lips to the top of his pants, letting him feel just the merest sensation of flesh against flesh as she plucked the black fabric. Neji sucked in a breath.

Sakura kept eye contact with him as she deftly undid the shoulder clasps of his armor, sliding her hands lower on both sides of his body as she simultaneously unbuckled the lower straps, muscles in her legs taut as she held herself just above his lower body.

He allowed her to peel away his armor slowly, tauntingly, before he arched his body up to press against hers, one hand sliding behind her neck to pull her close for another kiss. His free hand was not idle, her armor sliding down onto the bed with just the slightest sound of metal. When he'd pulled her down, she'd lost her precarious balance on the just slightly too soft bed and she was now sitting quite provokingly atop his arousal, only the layers of fabric between them.

"Sorry," Neji whispered, "but just this once, I absolutely won't let you win." Sakura's brow rose and then her eyes widened as he flipped them over, her tangling pink hair now dangling over the edge of the bed. Sai was grumbling something as he was forced to vacate his previous position, but as he left the bed he tangled his fingers with hers, distracting her from Neji.

Especially when he knelt down, running the back of her hand across his cheek, his dark eyes suddenly having an unexpected depth. It was hard to make black look warm, but in this moment he managed. He nipped gently at the knuckles on the back of her hand, like a cat demanding attention, and then his lips ghosted along them, turning wet and warm as he licked playfully at her fingers before biting down with gentle pressure on her nails.

Having captured her attention, however briefly, he uncapped his calligraphy brush and with the confident stroke of a apt pupil of the ancient art, he defined a long-tailed bird. Suzaku. Sakura's lips twitched at the evidence of Sai's dry sense of humor. But that was before he made his usual handsign and rather than peeling itself from her body, it fluttered on her skin and she _felt the sensation._ The long-feathered plumes of its tail, which had curled back toward Sai, drifted like kelp in the ocean down her arm, lingering at the sensitive skin of her inner elbow, then the black line of ink disappeared beneath her clothes. The sensation of touch didn't abate, warm like ink never was, a trail like Sai's tongue on her fingers exploring places she would have never considered erotic but still made her shiver as one plume trailed up her neck and behind her ear.

She found Neji was watching her with an almost uncharacteristic amusement. He leaned close, lips almost touching the shell of her ear. "Shall I show you what the Byakugan is capable of?" The veins around his eyes bulged and Sakura knew he was watching her chakra flow beneath her skin.

His fingers were unerring. Having her chakra blocked hurt and having it flood an area was just as painful, but this was something new, different. She could actually feel as her chakra began to flow, stagnant areas she hadn't even noticed before running clear. It wasn't necessarily sexual, but it was intimate, and she felt light as air, light as glass as he patiently administered to her body, leaving him setting at her feet, silver-white eyes knowledgeable. If there was a feeling to having your body purified, of having all the corruption of the present world washed away, it might have been this one. Sakura wanted to laugh and so she did, the sound bubbling from her like a mountain spring.

Her laughter made Neji smile and it was a lighter, more boyish expression than she'd ever seen him wear.

There was a soft sound of disdain from the side of the bed where she knew Itachi stood. "If we keep at your pace, you will be satisfied by a little foreplay."

As he reached up to remove his glasses, Sakura gained the sense she did in the best battles, as if time was moving more slowly. She could almost count the strands in his hair as he pulled the band from it and it fell in shining darkness around his shoulders. Sakura swallowed. She could see how he might be related to Madara. She wondered if he would also feel like fire.

A/N: I'm going to go hide in a corner now, having written that. And posted it. Gek. I didn't realize how hard to was to keep M-rated fiction from becoming MA. Just in case you missed it, no one even takes all their clothes off. But if it went any further than this, well, let's just say we would be treading deep into MA territory.


	29. When the World Falls (Part I)

Disclaimer: I own the plot and nothing more.

A/N: Sorry for the enormous delay. I knew what I wanted this chapter to do, but the execution took much longer than expected, especially as my original fiction has been eating up a lot of my writing time. So, in apology, I'm releasing this chapter in two parts, so you don't have to wait for one massive chapter.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Twenty-Nine-

When the World Falls (Part I)

Sakura had been feeding herself poison since she was twelve years old, used her body as her primary weapon in battle, and meditated diligently if unconventionally. She knew within minutes that something was wrong. After the battle, the adrenaline that raced through her bloodstream didn't fade away. Her heartbeat, if anything, raced even faster as she retrieved her mask, sweat soon beading on her brow beneath the fearsome porcelain facade. She had no doubt her cheeks and ears were flushed and before they had gone more than twenty yards in the threes, nausea had crept up her throat, stomach acid making her mouth sour.

It was not machismo that caused her to press on, though a part of her was ashamed for having been poisoned and sealed in a single blow. While she didn't want to display weakness to Danzo, who might take the opportunity to-with a mental shake of her head, she shook away a thought that reeked more of paranoia than a realistic possibility. Danzo had been moving more erratically these past few years, but he wasn't like Naruto, charging into a situation without a plan, without objectives to accomplish.

As her mind skipped past that possibility, it became increasingly hard to concentrate on what was poisoning her body. Just like those first traumatizing solo missions where she stayed awake for days on end for fear of ambush, tiny details and faint remembrances drove her mind into strange places. It became an almost painful struggle to methodically consider toxins, natural and synthetic, that she didn't have a resistance, produced the symptoms she was experiencing, and could be acquired without Haruno trading connections.

Pure adrenaline was a possibility. It could be fatal if administered in a large enough dose, the increased stress on her heart eventually causing it to stop beating, and it matched the strange ways her vision was shifting, which meant she had to move carefully or betray herself. If she was Danzo, though, she would take advantage of the instantaneous bodily response to adrenaline to disguise another component.

As she was busily contemplating this, she thought someone might be talking, but she couldn't tell if the voice was coming from within or without. _Kami-sama, keep my secrets safe, because I don't know if I can any longer. _It was like her mind had been a hand-woven cloth, made with such care though the bold colors clashed so badly, but now it was unraveling at a furious pace, her thoughts casting themselves ever further from the here-and-now.

-X-X-X-

All three members of Sakura's team noticed there was something stiff and rigid about the way their captain was moving, but at first they dismissed it as a result of her injuries or perhaps chakra exhaustion. None of them was willing to damage her pride by discussing the matter in front of Danzo, but eventually it was Sai, with his habitual lack of tact, who commented, "Hag, call a break before you fall over."

Sakura continued to move steadily through the trees, as if she hadn't heard him. Neji and Itachi, despite themselves, exchanged a worried glance and increased their pace so that they drew even with their captain. "Haruno-taichou?" Itachi pressed.

She made no response.

"Ah," Danzo drawled from behind their squad, where they were allowing him to travel without anything more than a chakra seal. "It would seem that my operative did his research more thoroughly than I'd hoped."

"Damn you," Neji growled beneath his breath, leaping in front of Sakura, who swayed to an unsteady halt on the branch she was had been preparing to launch herself from. She wavered there for what seemed to them for a long time before leaping to the ground, stumbling off in the direction of their rendezvous site like she was being summoned. A sluggish brook flowed across her path and she stopped by it, as if confused about how to proceed.

Neji was immediately by her side, removing her mask. Her face was redder than her hair, streaked with sweat. Her eyes were unfocused and followed the hand he waved in front of her face only sluggishly, sometimes darting to this side or that, like she was seeing things he wasn't.

"Damn it," he cursed more loudly. He turned to Danzo. "I don't suppose your squad includes medic-nin?"  
"Haruno killed him, so no."  
"Damn it," Neji repeated for a third time, this time tinged with desperation and frustration. "Sakura...?" His expertise was not poisons. That had always been Sakura's special domain. And she'd always been strangely defensive and closed when it came to skills that were specially _hers. _

With a sudden, jerky movement like a cockroach, Sakura pushed past him, falling to her knees half a step beyond his outstretched hands, vomiting violently into the flowing water. Neji was at a loss, at first, because though he'd seen her injured before, Sakura had never seemed so vulnerable. The retching that scraped across his eardrums, the way her whole body seemed to curl into the act of being sick, the way her arms trembled to support her.

Itachi had no such hesitation, crouching next to her and pulling back the strands of her wig. But he did nothing more, simply making sure she didn't pitch forward into the water. It seemed like she was sick for a very long time, her body continuing to try and purge itself even when there wasn't anything more for it to lose. At last, she took a careful breath and slumped forward, staring into the water over the brace of Itachi's arm. Some of the blood vessels in her eyes had burst and the sclera were quickly flooding with red, swallowing all but a thin ring of green almost swallowed by the black of her irises.

It was unsightly and probably burned, but it was hardly an injury to be alarmed at. But something about the sight of her own reflection disturbed Sakura and she threw Itachi's arm roughly out of the way, bringing her face inches from the water. "Madara," she hissed and Itachi stiffened, almost losing the hold he'd taken on her shoulders. "Madara, what have you done?!" she demanded. She seemed frantic with panic, splashing and clawing at the water like she expected there to be some sort of portal to appear before her. But, abruptly, she stilled and her eyelids slid shut over her damaged eyes. Sakura took a deep, even breath, and then another.

Without opening her eyes, she murmured, "Clever. But you should warn your subordinates from now on that mixing poisons isn't like mixing drinks. Unless they know how the reagents will compound, they shouldn't play in an arena belonging to those far more skilled than they. Especially when using hallucinogens." Her bloodied eyes opened again, glancing back to assess Danzo's position, then she reached for her pack, sifting through scrolls full of tiny, sealed jars of component flora and fauna.

Mixing her own antidote while still under the influence of the poison was impressive-doing it without the benefit of a lab and nothing more than her field kit made it a feat few medic-nin outside of the Hokage herself could equal. When she was finished, she stood in a movement both controlled and powerful though the antidote couldn't have had an effect yet.

"Taichou, I believe you should rest for a while longer," Itachi suggested firmly and Neji's agreement was writ plain on his face, though Sai looked only a bit bemused, wondering at the discomfort he felt in the present situation.

Itachi felt a shiver work itself beneath his skin as those eerie eyes turned towards him, one corner of her lip quirking. "You need not worry." Her hand came to rest above her heart, the silk covering of her body armor shifting with the slight pressure. "I know the limits of this body. Exorcise speeds metabolism-the antidote will do its work and my body will take care of the rest. I will eat while we move," she said by way of compromise, but that was all she was willing to offer.

If the other two noticed the shift in her tone, they did not mention it, but Itachi noticed. It was the same voice that had made Sakura's proposition to return to Konohagakure. Her usual mode of speaking was vibrant, enthusiastic, oft times blunt though she tried to choose her words with care. This was a Sakura far more sure of herself. And for him, there was no other way to describe that voice-it was a ruler's voice, suited for cruelty or kindness without ever needing to waver.

_Perhaps I'm over thinking it? _It was possible it could only be the mask Sakura drew over herself when feeling most vulnerable, but the eerie reflection of another voice, male but similar, would not leave him. _But why, of all things, who she hallucinate about Uchiha Madara unless he..._ but then he shook off that thought. There was no certainty that Sakura's Madara was Uchiha Madara. It wasn't a particularly common name, but it wasn't impossible that Sakura had an acquaintance named Madara. Unlikely, but not impossible. But Itachi patiently gathered this piece of the puzzle, waiting until he had a better idea of the picture before he began fitting the pieces and confronted Sakura.

He glanced at his companions as Sakura reset their course, nibbling at a rice-ball as she leaped from branch to branch. All he could read in Neji's body language was relief. Itachi dismissed him as too infatuated and blind to that infatuation to notice that anything was wrong. Sai had been too well trained to read anything from his stance-Itachi doubted at times that Sai himself would know how to express emotion through anything but the most textbook of gestures. Babies learned to express emotion by watching the expressions and reactions of those around them, subconsciously imitating them. To feel joy was to laugh and smile, to feel sadness was to shed tears. What Danzo did with his conditioning was to break that instinctive connection between the emotion and the expression.

_Disgusting. _He couldn't help the reaction to the old man's perversion of the principle rule of self-control in any situation. But even he had to admit it was a qualified success, especially considering how few ninja managed to acquire the state of mind needed to control their own reactions.

His thoughts, as they often did, turned to Sasuke. This coming confrontation was far different than the one he had planned almost from the very night of the massacre. He'd had so long then to turn over every detail in his mind, make ready for every possibility. He'd planned as carefully as if he were crafting a Noh dance, every movement, every gesture, every word resonating with meaning. In his mind, Itachi had faced down his brother a hundred times. He had died, but Sasuke had lived.

When he was at his weakest, when it hurt to breathe like someone was etching words with fire on his lungs, when it felt like he might drown in the desert, he had imagined what Sasuke's life after he was dead would be like. Once, he'd been able to see it with perfect clarity, realer to him than the dim, shadowed world he inhabited.

Now there was nothing, as if his inner-eye had gone blind at the moment his outer eyes had been healed. Sakura had changed everything for him. And that was not something he would soon forget.

-X-X-X-

Neji was not oblivious to Sakura's sudden changes of personality. But until very recently that had simply been something that had come with territory, so to speak. She'd done it as a gennin as well-one moment, sugar couldn't have rivaled her when it came to speaking to Uchiha Sasuke, but she'd, well, there weren't too many kind words to describe the obnoxious, violent priss that was thankfully only a memory.

After the Uchiha's defection and Naruto's departure, Sakura had bloomed beautifully into his canny partner, who used and discarded faces and personalities easily on missions. She wasn't like Naruto, who overwhelmed his opponents with the force of his personality alone-Sakura had seemed to have an instinct, especially in those early years, that knew just where to touch, just what to say, to leave an opponent she intended to leave alive nothing more than an emotional wreck. It wasn't sadistic, per say. There was a kind of blank and detached look in her eyes as she did it, as if it was a habit that caused her no pleasure, but still wasn't something she could break.

And then that Sakura had given way to the Sakura of today, a Sakura who laughed more freely than even when she'd been with Team Seven. As long as he did not lose that Sakura, he was willing to overlook some things. Even when the Sakura right now gave him an eerie feeling, like he was traveling with a ghost.

-X-X-X-

By the time they'd reached the rendezvous point two days later, Sakura was back in control of her body and equal parts frightened by Madara's masterful handling of the situation and grateful for it. She had unwillingly ceded the point that to try to explain her unfortunate break-down at the sight of her eyes would only draw attention to it. For now she would let the others make up their own explanations. Neji knew she often lingered in the Valley of the End-perhaps he would attribute it to that. Sai might not question it all. Itachi would be the most dangerous, but unless she presented a threat to his own agenda, she shouldn't have any cause to worry-and, really, even the Uchiha problem grew more convoluted by the day, it wasn't likely that Uchiha Madara, dead for so long already, would have any part of it.

And Danzo-Sakura twisted a lock of her wig uneasily-he she didn't expect to survive this next confrontation. But even if he did, he had a unique perspective to create his own story. Her quasi-membership in ROOT and unsteady position as Hokage's apprentice had given her access to almost every scroll vault and archive in Konohagakure. Including the one that contained the personal effects of Uchiha Madara, seized after his rebellion was put down.

Included among those items were his political writings, personal letters, and even a battered journal that recorded, not his life, but his thoughts on the people around him. A faded seal and the crisped edges of the journal bore witness to how much security he'd put on the book, but it wasn't something dangerous. There was nothing political in its pages, but it did offer fascinating insight into an Uchiha Madara that history did not record.

It had been a growing fad among her age group to be attracted to historical figures-she'd let them all believe that she'd just transferred her affection from one unreachable Uchiha to another. Ino had chosen her historical idol partly in retaliation-Hashirama Senju-and Ino had coaxed Hinata into joining by more or less forcing pictures of Tobirama on her and regaling the Hyuuga heiress with tales of his humor and heroism.

The Madara in her head had been faintly amused by her interest in the historical memorabilia of the _real _Uchiha Madara, but Sakura had known that the Madara of her mind had been at least influenced by those writings, though there wasn't nearly enough to have formed such a complete and willful personality.

Having no better recourse at the moment than to let that issue fester on her own, she turned her attention to one that was more pressing. She could sense Kakashi's group and Sasuke's group, Kakashi apparently restraining Naruto from closing the distance. Sakura ordered Sai to have one of his ink-birds to survey the topography, because she'd learned from experience that it was difficult to gain an over-arching picture of a landscape through Neji's descriptions.

"Your plan?" Danzo asked her as they warily closed the distance between the groups, keeping their chakra carefully smothered.

"We wait for Kakashi's team to engage Sasuke's. At that point, we'll take the opportunity to study the fighting styles of Sasuke's recruits, so I'll have a better idea of who to send in for support in the event that it's needed. The goal, of course, is to isolate Sasuke."

"And talk him down?" Danzo asked her skeptically.

"So that none of his teammates interfere. According to our intelligence, it's likely that his new recruits are remnants of the Oto-forces. As such, it's impossible to predict what kind of forced mutations we might encounter."

Danzo made a thoughtful noise deep in his throat. "You're cautious as a leader."

"They say he who hesitates is lost, but he who hasn't the intelligence to investigate the battlefield before he enters it is an idiot."

"True."

She glanced over at the weathered old man. "The matter of the third Uchiha will be left to your discretion."

"Are you certain that's wise?"

Sakura was glad her expression was hidden behind her mask. "If there really is a third Uchiha, probability is high he's a serious threat-the kind that should really be handled by Itachi. But Itachi isn't expendable."

"And I am?" Danzo chuckled. "You really have learned well, Sakura-chan. But I can't promise to die that easily."

"I would be disappointed at anything less, Danzo-sama."

-X-X-X-

Safe behind the screen of her technique, Sakura studied the battle before her intently, knowing her Shishin were doing the same. Her mouth curled in disgust. _If that was all you left us for, why did you bother?_ she thought with distaste.

Shino and Kiba were double-teaming a orange-haired giant who was continually changing form in what was clearly a curse-seal transformation, while Hinata faced off against Sasuke's kunoichi, who looked so dismally average in the combat department Sakura was almost certain she had to have some sort of special skill for Sasuke to have bothered. Kakashi was likely experiencing a sort of déjà vu with his battle against Zabuza's sword, but its new wielder was like comparing Sasuke to Itachi. Disappointing in every way.

And Sasuke and Naruto themselves-her fingers clenched tighter. _Idiots. It's just the same battle, over and over again. _

"Taichou?" Sai whispered from her side.

"Don't interfere yet. This is good training for the others and there's no sign of the third Uchiha."

"Understood."

_But it's almost unbearable, _she thought. _It hurts, almost more than if I was there on the battlefield. All this power-all this planning-and I'm still powerless to move. If this was any other battle, there'd be no doubts. I can almost see it in front of me, each step needed to crush that team. That swordsman, his ability might be inherited or experimental, but either way, he likely needs chakra to make it possible. Neji would be able to paralyze the chakra flow of his solid form, because his attack doesn't 'pierce' anything to activate the use of that water form. After that, he's no match for Neji. A sword that large is cumbersome by nature-likely why Zabuza used it with his Silent Kill technique._

Her eyes flickered to the kunoichi. _That isn't even a battle that needs planned. Hinata's distracted by Naruto and isn't giving this battle her all, otherwise this would have been long over. Sai could take care of her quickly. And Itachi's perfect for the unpredictability of that last ninja. Even without Sharingan, he wouldn't have a problem. Kiba and Shino have let that guy set the pace of the battle, which is why they're having trouble. His behavior is erratic and likely terrifying if you aren't used to that kind of enemy. His bloodlust is overwhelming and he doesn't really have to worry about being injured and the curse seal produces such ridiculous levels of that nasty chakra that it's difficult for Shino's bugs to siphon it. And, Sasuke...right now, his defense if full of holes. He's guarded himself totally against Naruto's attacks, but Naruto takes so much of his attention that I could seamlessly blend a genjutsu into his surroundings and finish it all with my own hands. _

The urge was vicious and she only just stopped herself from snarling behind her mask, like she'd become the tiger it portrayed, a beast unhappy that it had been denied its prey. _The day we stop pretending is the day we become unable to live in society. Just because it is easy does not make it right. So, prepare yourself, Sakura. You'll have to stand face-to-face with him again. It's too early yet to be afraid of stepping out into the light. _

She signaled to her squad and they faded into the branches like smoke. She knew they would capture the battlefield in a loose circle, in what Neji had dryly called the Celestial Order, because it sent them all to their respective corners of influence, Itachi to the north, Neji to the south, Sai to the east, and she to the west.

_And now Sasuke, you are entangled in heaven's net. _

-X-X-X-

"Sasuke-kun! There's someone out there!" The desperate cry came from Karin, who was barely holding her own against Hinata.

"What?" Naruto asked as a bead of sweat dripped from his temple as kunai braced against kunai. "Not going to look?" he challenged him.

Sasuke snorted. "As if, dobe. If they want to come out, they'll make their appearance soon enough."

Naruto grinned ferally. "And what if it's reinforcements for our side?"

_Is he expecting someone? Could it be...Sakura? _"Karin," he barked, "can you tell who it is?"

In response, there was a flurry of movement and the Hyuuga girl dropped to ground, prompting the expected cry of outrage from her teammates, but neither of them could afford to take their concentration from their battle with Jyuugo.

Whoever it was, they apparently noticed the discovery, for suddenly even he could feel their chakra and killing intent, arrayed around the battlefield like the four points on the compass. Kicking Naruto in the gut and breaking their deadlock, he put distance between them, putting himself back to back with Suigetsu and Karin.

"Sheesh," Suigetsu growled, "what's with these people?"

Karin put on a veneer of confidence, but her voice quavered, just a little bit. "Humph. Putting on a big show like this, they're probably all talk."

From the forest in front of him, Sasuke watched as a dark-clad figure dropped from the tree and strolled onto the battlefield like he was walking into a park, stopping just outside the loose circle that had been formed by the combatants. In his peripheral vision, the movement was aped on either side by similarly clad ninja-ANBU.

From the cursing of Suigetsu, he could be certain what he was face was an entire squad._ Dragon, bird, turtle..._

"And a tiger?" Karin's high-pitched voice provided the missing information. "I don't remember an ANBU team like this from Konohagakure."

"So you've memorized all the ANBU team configurations from Konohagakure? Pointless, but impressive, I suppose. If you were ever curious when a team switched members out, or when a new member was inducted." The voice came from the direction Suigetsu was facing, which meant that the speaker was likely the leader of the squad. "So this is Uchiha Sasuke's oh-so-impressive squad formed for the sole purpose of avenging himself on Uchiha Itachi. You do have to wonder, though-if he intended to face his brother face to face, one on one, what did he need the rest of you for?" The voice was light, amused, and faintly androgynous behind the muffling mask, though he suspected the speaker was a woman.

And she obviously knew which buttons to push to make Karin angry, though thankfully the redhead kept her mouth shut about the reason he'd recruited her.

But then, the voice spoke again. "You must be, let me guess, don't tell me-medic-type? No, chakra sensor. Yes? Did I get it right? You were the first to notice us in those trees, after all. And Sasuke couldn't sense his way out of a wet paper bag." It was the familiarity of that tone that confirmed the speculation he'd at first felt was outlandish.

"Haruno Sakura," he growled.

There was a gasp of recognition from Karin. He expected as much. She pursued him to an extent that put a younger Sakura to shame, so it wasn't a surprise she would know of his former teammates. "You were that girl, the one in the base!"

"Hh-mm. I wonder about that. Though I would be curious how so many of Orochimaru's misfits could be collected _after _his bases were destroyed. Unless, Uchiha, you were planning on assembling your own little crack team beforehand and made sure they were out of Konohangakure's reach. I wouldn't say that was in the spirit of cooperation that was part of your deal with the elders. You remember the one-the one in which you weren't executed for deserting the village."

Karin's answer was instant. "According to Konohagakure's own laws, he can't be executed only for deserting in the first place."

A low chuckle answered her. "Ah, really, such _loyal _followers touch my heart. But, kunoichi-chan, let me point out to you that we don't know that he didn't share village secrets with Orochimaru, which is a charge he can be executed for. And if you're so caught up in the matter of legalities, crushing a recognized village is an act of war that should have incurred Konoha heavy penalties under the treaties drawn up after the last shinobi war. But you saw what came of that. Nothing at all, because everyone was so relieved to have that snake's plans destroyed that the committee determined that Orochimaru was still a citizen of Konoha and the matter was nothing more than a punitive expedition against one of their own. But, back to the matter at hand. Uchiha Sasuke, consider this your last and final chance to return to the village of Konoha. After this, the Hokage's more than generous mercy will be at an end. You've become too expensive to keep."

"And you think you're strong enough to take me back, Sa-ku-ra?" he mocked, though for the first time he felt the first twinges of apprehension. _That Madara, where did he go? _

A shiver raced up his spine as Sakura spoke her next words, because it was as if she'd read his mind. "Stalling now, Sasuke? Waiting for your hero to show up? Look who's the damsel in distress now," she purred. "But even if he is an Uchiha, it will take him a moment or two to return from that fight. Konoha's roots run deep and strong."

Sasuke could no longer bear speaking to her without facing her, so he signaled to Karin and they quickly switched places in the formation. What he saw took him aback for just a moment as his brain tried to reconcile a Sakura that seemed to have changed almost beyond recognition once again with the pink-haired girl he'd barely begun to understand before his second defection. The long white coat was not flattering, but the mask that concealed her face was fierce, the wig only adding to the surreal feeling that the person standing not twenty yards away was a stranger.

"So you know everything now, Sakura?" He chuckled himself, a dark and unhappy sound. "Well, then you should know the truth about what happened the night your precious elders _murdered _my entire family and used my brother to do it!"

Gasps from the Konoha contingent let him know that this was new to them and even Naruto, who'd been not-so-subtly trying to interpose himself between Sakura and Sasuke, looked shaken.

But Sakura's voice was as disaffected as it had ever been. "And so?"

Naruto jerked, like he'd been struck by lightning. His voice was appalled. "Sakura!"

"My orders don't change, just because you discovered that you've spent half your life being wrong, Sasuke. In fact, I probably could have told you that long before your benefactor ever said a word to you. So, the situation remains-will we have to use force to bring you back to Konohagakure?"

Naruto half-turned to face her, never letting his eyes ever completely leave Sasuke. "Sakura, Sasuke was your friend and teammate. How could you just taunt him like that about his brother?"

Sasuke's thoughts froze for an instant. _He knew? They all knew? Then that surprise, it wasn't because they didn't know themselves, it was because _I _knew? _

Sakura flicked a lock of her wig over her shoulder, but it only fell forward again almost instantly. "Friend? I don't ever recall being Uchiha Sasuke's _friend_. And I poured my heart out to him, both as a someone who once thought they loved him and in anger. But he's ate away my ability to care. I just want to end this now, Naruto. But you're right. I will stop being intentionally cruel. Not for your sake, Sasuke. But for someone who deserves it. I have to ask, though, what exactly did you intend to do with that information? Your squad looked as if you were still hunting Itachi."

"Itachi-when we catch up to him, I have a lot I want to say to my brother. But what I want most is to offer him a chance."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked warily.

"For us to take revenge together, against your precious village."

There was a moment of stunned silence, then, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Sakura said darkly. "Naruto, _please _beat some sense into him."

"Gladly," the blonde-haired ninja growled. "You bastard, do you even care how your brother would feel if he could hear you spewing that crap? Do you know what he must have felt, carrying out that order? But your brother wasn't just some automaton, Sasuke. Do you really believe he would have done something like that if he didn't think there wasn't any other way?"

"It was the village's fault that he was in that position to begin with! They'd been discriminating against the Uchiha since the founding, banning them from any positions of real power."  
"And that gave them the right to plan a rebellion?" Sakura's voice was distant and her tone measured.

"What would you have done in their place?" he lashed out.

"Me? As an Uchiha or a Haruno? Because for a clan with enough wealth, seizing political power is easy. Not everything comes down to force, Sasuke. Words solve more than violence ever will. The Hokage, at the end of the day, must listen to the daimyo, who is interested in nothing more than acquiring more money, property, and ensuring stability for their state. The Uchiha could have provided him with all of those, gaining the daimyo's favor, who could then influence the Hokage to appoint them to positions of power. A Hidden Village might say that it's autonomous, but if the daimyo forbids anyone from coming to us with contracts, it a long, slow death of starvation. It's that easy."

Sasuke was at a loss for an answer, until Sakura slowly reached up and removed her mask. "Have the members of your squad stand down," she said quietly.

Naruto seemed to divine her intentions, blue eyes widening, then narrowing again. "This time, it'll be the three of us, Sasuke," he said solemnly. "One last battle. To settle everything. Please."

Sasuke hesitated for a long moment, then scoffed. "Sounds interesting."


	30. When the World Falls (Part II)

Disclaimer: Still. Not. Mine.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but these chapters are always distressing. Fight scenes are likely my weak point and the difficulty of writing these out chapter by chapter is that you can't take something back later. Anyhow, as always, feel free to comment and tell me what you think. This arc is drawing to a close and there will be only one more after this one before the fic is finished.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-

When the World Falls (Part II)

_Before you reveal yourself to Sasuke, I want you to observe his behavior. I want to show you what he's become, not the self he'll want to show you. Not to distress you, Itachi, but every plan depends on a thorough knowledge of the target. It will probably come down to a battle between Naruto, Sasuke, and me, _she'd told him in a low tone so bland she might have been talking about someone else. Knowing his captain as he did, however, Itachi knew that the blasé tone might have covered a wide spectrum of reactions, from anguish to rage to true apathy. _When you decide you're ready, interfere as you please and I will retreat and make sure Naruto does the same. But until that point, be warned I don't have much self-control when it comes to Sasuke. I'm probably afraid of him, _she admitted quietly. _He's near enough my level for that. Itachi..._

_ Yes, taichou? _

_ Good luck, _she had whispered.

He wasn't surprised that Sakura had been right in her assessment of Sasuke. But that didn't make the disappointment any easier to bear. Though he was stoically on stand-by externally, the expression he wore behind his mask would have surprised perhaps even his teammates. He was reminded of his first meeting with Sakura, how she'd baited him by insinuating that he was using Sasuke as the tool for his revenge.

_You were wrong, Sakura. But I was also wrong about Sasuke. Since childhood, his pride has never made him reconsider an action once he's committed himself to it, from learning fire jutsu to staying up late. I thought time would change that. But he's still as foolish as back then. Should it be called admirable or not? _

He watched Sakura as she issued her ultimatum, calculating plans as she shoved Sasuke closer towards total emotional vulnerability. _I know you are counting on me to interfere, taichou, and I will, but for now, I need you to bring him to the very edge. The Sasuke of right now will be deaf to anything I have to say. But taichou, I am also worried about you. If Madara is using you for some plot I haven't yet been able to divine, we might have more to be wary of than just Sasuke. You sent Danzo, but he will be dead soon enough. _

-X-X-X-

Sasuke didn't hesitate. Only Sakura had ever said he was a fool, but she'd never inferred that he couldn't learn from his mistakes. He was aware that the odds were against him. All other things being equal, a two-on-one battle was never in favor of the one, unless said one happened be a psychological manipulator of the order of Orochimaru himself.

He wouldn't go so far as to admit to Naruto being his equal and he'd never gone full-on against Sakura, but even he couldn't argue with the latter's results. He and Naruto could battle to nightfall and beyond. A battle with Sakura would never last that long-one of them would be dead or in retreat long before that. Battle tactics weren't something he could counterfeit using his Sharingan, but he could turn her own style against her, pulling out his ace before the battle even began.

Flooding his chakra channels with the crackling, intoxicating power of the second stage of the curse seal, he felt his muscles tear and rebuild themselves in an instant, felt the world slow and change as his eyes awoke to their full potential. And before Naruto could draw chakra from that damn fox or Sakura had a chance to lower her eyes from the hard, heady look of challenge she'd offered, he pulled them into a battlefield they couldn't even compete on.

The world of the Sharingan, a plane in which he was a god, able to influence and change as he pleased. Not as strong as his brother's damnable technique, but it was the same ability that had allowed him to seal the Kyuubi back into Naruto during their little "reunion."

A vast darkness spread behind him, but in front were two paths. To the left was the familiar underground bunker, dripping mold and decay from the desolate concrete walls and endless pipework in Naruto's mind. Naruto's blue eyes were filled with an awareness of what he was about to do, but the certainty was tempered with curiosity. While he'd been in the village, Naruto had nagged him a thousand times about the fox's words, but he'd never given him even a hint.

Sneering, Sasuke's eyes flicked to the flower-filled mindscape to the right, resembling nothing so much as the field that the kunoichi had used for their ikebana classes. _I knew you were soft on the inside, Sakura, _he thought with triumph as the kunoichi glowered at him.

Naruto snorted. "What, already repeating yourself, Sasuke? I would've thought you'd got some new tricks with your new pals."

"Oh, don't worry, Naruto. This is a new trick entirely. This time, I'm not going to seal the Kyuubi."

Naruto's expression turned deeply suspicious in an instant, but Sakura's glower didn't shift, even as a breeze through her mindscape ruffled her hair, drawing attention to its color. _Pink_, he thought with satisfaction. This was why mental torture was so efficient. The mind was the one place in which most ninja were defenseless, appearing to him as they imagined themselves. If his technique had been stronger, he could have torn away more of the trappings of the outside, but it was sufficient to rid them of their weapons and all Sakura's tricky poisons.

"Then what are you going to do, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded. Red eyes, steady and unblinking, staring out from the vast prison cell that was the beast's home, asked of him the same question, bubbling chakra beginning to hiss and seethe its way out across the water-covered floor.

"I'm going to show you, Naruto. Just how to use the Kyuubi properly."

The fox itself gave a great bark of a laugh. It startled Sakura, who looked over at the beast. "It's actually here with us?" she asked sharply.

"It's sealed in Naruto-and therefore part of his mind. It isn't something he can leave behind, even in this jutsu."

Sakura paled at his words and Sasuke drank in the taste of satisfaction. _There _was the Sakura he had been looking for.

"And what do you think you'll have me doing, Uchiha?" the fox snarled.

"Nothing less than your nature demands," Sasuke said with an unpleasant smile.

The fox burst suddenly from behind the bars, congealing into corporeal form on the far side, looming far above a Naruto who glanced upwards in shock. Glistening fangs bared, the fox's pupils dilated as its body froze against its will, then, like the turning of a clock hand that had been stuck, its gaze slowly shifted to Sakura.

Naruto understood immediately his attention, but Sakura seemed incapable of doing anything but staring dumbly at the fox. "Sasuke! You can't do that!" Naruto screamed.

"Watch me." Satisfaction was almost a tangible feeling as the fox bore down on Sakura, who stood frozen, a reflection of every battle he remembered from their past.

And then, it wasn't.

Because suddenly her hand was extended out, palm open like she was ordering a civilian to halt. Sasuke had a moment's sneering incredulity at the blatant stupidity of it, which wasn't anything like he expected from Sakura, but when the fox actually _stopped_, the frisson of unease returned.

Her voice was sad such as he hadn't heard it since she'd confronted him about leaving the village. "You shouldn't have done this, Sasuke. You've gone and made the nightmares real."

Her control seemed less perfect than his, for the Kyuubi ground out, "What are you...doing, you filthy human?!"

Sakura blinked up at the beast and suddenly there was a design in her eyes both strange and too familiar. _Sharingan?!_

Her image began to waver, like a mirage created by heat rising from the sands of Suna, her ANBU uniform swallowed by red armor, pink locks replaced by a dark mane, a lithe kunoichi's body wearing the broad shoulders of a shinobi. Sasuke could almost feel the fox's surprise, which couldn't be any greater than his own.

And then the man spoke. "Hello again, old friend."

The Kyuubi's roar was deafening. "Madara!"

"I'm afraid not. But enough for a beast such as you." Naruto stiffened as the man, as if he was not holding the Kyuubi at bay with nothing more than his will and a Sharingan that couldn't be _real_, turned to look at the young ninja. Sasuke couldn't interpret the expression on Naruto's face until the man looked towards him. There was no clearer metaphor than a man who happened to look down at an ant an instant before he crushes it. Without respect, without recognition of individuality, without any kind of hatred, just an acknowledgement that they would never be _equal_.

Sasuke _hated _it. "Who are you? And don't give me any crap about being Uchiha Madara!"

"I am Haruno Sakura. Always and only Haruno Sakura, though between you brothers, what is Sakura and what isn't becomes more difficult to say. But that is of no matter, Sasuke. Your trick was clever, but it's now at an end." His appearance shifted again, Sakura's body returning, but his eyes and armor remained. Her restraining hand fell to shoulder level and _something _slithered out from the tall collar.

_A white snake? What's going on here?_

The snake tumbled from her hand into the grass, standing up as a man. A man whose smile made Sasuke's blood run cold even as Sakura seemed to take a step back, leaving an after-image of her armored self, which returned to its masculine form as soon as she left it. Sakura-the Sakura he knew-had her face turned away, chin tucked in defensively.

The man who could only be Orochimaru began to walk toward them and with each step, iron pillars rose through all three of the mindscapes, his footsteps crunching on something Sasuke couldn't see. His eerie laugh was just as Sasuke remembered it, grating against his ears. "I'm afraid that this farce can't last any longer. The real fight is about to begin. You should know, though, I will treasure this memory of our time together. You, however, will need to forget everything about this encounter. My thanks, Sasuke, for opening the path. Sealing will be easiest inside the mind. You'll have to wait until the underworld to give thanks to the man to whom Sakura owes this technique-Shimura Danzou is almost finished."

On the sides of the iron pillars, great white seals, rings rotating independently like a great clockwork mechanism, began to blink into existence. Before even the Sharingan could memorize their symbols, Sasuke felt the reality he had created begin to destabilize, like he was waking from a dream.

-X-X-X-

Sakura felt cold sweat trickle down her neck from beneath the stifling wig as returned to the waking world. _Oh, kami-sama of heaven and earth, tell me that was only a waking nightmare. _Because if it wasn't, then Sakura's time was truly limited, more so than when she'd acknowledged she was slowly going mad. Those seals on their memory would last only a month or two at most before the seals were eroded, the process quickened by Sasuke's use of the curse seal and the sealed portion of Orochimaru and the Kyuubi in Naruto's case.

For any other enemy, being given so much time would make it an easy battle. She could sabotage their credibility with the Hokage, destabilize their shinobi career by requesting they be assigned missions too difficult for them or far below their skill level, she could even do the unthinkable and make a fellow Konoha-nin disappear. If they had been foreigner-nin, the decision would have been made easier still, even if they were diplomatically valuable. But all of these were actions she could take only if she was willing to abuse the trust of Tsunade-shishou.

And that wasn't something she was prepared to do, though Danzou's damnable seal and secrets meant she would be doing so unwillingly. He was canny, cleverer even than a fox. If he'd designated any other ninja as his heir, transferring the master seal that kept the tongues of his ROOT ninja bound to them, Sakura had no doubt that Tsunade would have eliminated him or her in short order and dismantled the organization that had been a thorn in the side of three generations of Hokage.

But if Tsunade had one weakness, it was that she was sentimental. She wouldn't be able to eliminate Sakura, to whom she was emotionally attached. If Sakura had to wager money on Danzou's motivations for singling her out, that would be her primary value to the shinobi. Secondarily, she supposed, there remained the fact that he'd trained very good soldiers but no generals, beating the capacity for free thought out of his subordinates along with their individuality.

If Sakura had been able to dismantle the seal, none of this would be particularly troubling. In fact, the ability to hand over ROOT would have been invaluable leverage no matter what Naruto or Sasuke reported to the Hokage. But it was only thanks to Sasuke's nasty little trick that she'd understood the full measure of Danzou's preparations. Not even the seal on the scroll case came close to the complexity of a sealing mechanism that he'd had a lifetime to develop, refine, and modify.

_ Damn you, Danzou. _

But all this was a nightmare deferred, because another was waiting for her as she loosened her sword in its sheath, preparing to draw it as the monstrosity that Sasuke had become flexed his strangely hand-like wings. He drew a sword of his own in a smooth motion, this one a straight double-edged sword of Chinese jian design. Quite frankly, it was an ugly sword, the guard have a strange, scale-like texture in the cast metal, the hilt wrapped in what might have been white bandages for all she knew. It had none of the simple elegance of a katana, nor the lethal brutality of a ninja-to. The sword she had stolen from Sasuke was far superior to it, but she still felt unease, staring at that blade.

_So, his remaining life force wasn't the only thing you took from Orochimaru. _And then her mind was brilliantly clear as she and Sasuke met in the middle of the battlefield, steel crying out as Sakura deflected Sasuke's blow with the side of her sword, her own kiriage meeting a similar fate as they exchanged blows too quick for conscious thought to follow, training making her take advantage of every perceived weakness before her thoughts could even form.

Their encounter was vicious and it taught her an important lesson: Sasuke, even without his Sharingan, would likely be the superior swordsman, having invested far more time in his kenjutsu than she. Sasuke with his Sharingan was an impossible opponent for her skill level, but the sword was the weapon of the samurai, not the ninja.

As she saw a flash of orange behind Sasuke's back and he used one of his wings to knock the kunai from Naruto's hand, she took advantage of the moment to step forward, grasping Sasuke's dominant wrist with every intention of crushing it, but he quickly reversed the hold and with his augmented strength flipped her over his shoulder. She landed easily on her feet, sliding to a stop next to Naruto.

Sheathing the sword as useless and because she'd grown somewhat fond of the blade, she switched tactics, still leery of turning this into a taijutsu bout, despite it and genjutsu being her strongest battle attributes, her sealing knowledge limited to a more scholarly bent. _Am I fast enough? _she wondered as she reached for a sealing scroll, revealing a long, thin rope that had bladed hooks attached to the ends.

As Naruto led another charge, she gathered the rope until it was an appropriate length, than she began to spin the hooks, adjusting to the weight of them before she suddenly loosed the rope she'd held in her right hand as it reached the right part of the rotation, the bladed end whistling forward like a harpoon.

Sasuke tried to block it with his wings, hands occupied with Naruto's endless clones, but there was a reason even Sakura had to adjust to the weights. The bladed hooks themselves were cast platinum over a core of iridium and osmium, the densest and heaviest metals on the planet, though the source for these particular samples had been meteorites, the metals themselves occurring so rarely in the Earth's crust that not even the Haruno clan could afford to use them in weapon. So when the hook, longer than Sakura's forearm, hit the elongated 'finger' that stretched the leathery surface of his wing, it snapped the bone and crumpled his wing like an umbrella in a hurricane.

But Sakura wasn't done, whipping the hook back and swinging it in a wide circle to regain control and shorten the line, this time letting the rope in her left hand slide through her fingers, hoping to set the hook through the membrane and around the forearm, so she could reel him in like a deep sea tuna. Sasuke, however, had learned his lesson, deflecting rather than blocking with admirable control, given that _she _could barely see him over the top of innumerable clones that he continued to pop like so many balloons, the smoke creating a natural impediment to sight.

Luckily, he'd only altered the path and not destroyed her momentum, so she danced her rope shorter again, circling the mass of flailing limbs and blonde hair that Naruto had created, looking for an opening.

_Thank you, Tenten, _she offered silently. She'd gone to the girl as her best source for kenjutsu, but in her own way, the kunoichi was as excessive a perfectionist as her teammates, mastering literally dozens of armed styles with all sorts of weapons. She'd refused pointblank to teach her only the sword-she'd harped about testing weapons to find the one she naturally took to until Sakura had humored her just so she would teach her to use her trophy.

Her interest in armed styles might be extremely limited, but there were times when they certainly came in handy.

Especially when she subtly layered a genjutsu over the weapon that would make it appear to be about three inches to the right, a difference that might be small enough to be overlooked, but would be all she needed to land a blow.

Now all she needed was a handbook on Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja's attack patterns, because the blonde idiot was trying hard to monopolize the fight. His tactics in close-range combat were much improved, she allowed grudgingly, because his mob-style tactics weren't giving Sasuke the space he needed for a full swing of his sword and so many attacks from so many directions at once made it impossible to block them all, even with his Sharingan. That would have been a feat only a Hyuuga was capable of.

Or, at least, it wasn't a feat _one _Sasuke was capable of, but _four _of them pressed back to back found it an easy enough task to repel the clones.

_He stole Naruto's tactics and used them against him. _Sakura was again grudgingly impressed, but as another hook was sent hurtling toward her former companion, she had no time to be moved by her former teammate's improvements. The hook hit the blade of Kusanagi with a _clang_ and Sakura had to move swiftly to stop Sasuke from entangling the rope and cutting it. She spun, slackening her grasp on her off-hand hook so that the two projectiles roared through the air in a deadly circle, casting several of Naruto's clones back into oblivion, but Sasuke was as light on his feet as ever, the two opponents dancing together for a moment as Sakura varied the angle and height of the hooks, Sasuke sliding between them, over them and under them without grace, but with all the robust aggression of the Uchiha style.

It quickly became apparent that her genjutsu wasn't going to be of any assistance, Sasuke having either grown too talented or the object she was using them on too unwieldy for the jutsu, roaring and whistling through the air as they did.

At last, Sasuke knocked on the hooks from the air. The heavy hook anchored itself in the ground and Sakura had to jettison the weapon mid-twirl to prevent being thrown off balance, but the distraction was enough that a barrage of fireballs singed the end of her wig. Sasuke scowled at the cosmetic damage he'd done, but then they were in movement again, he with his seemingly endless supply of shuriken, she with the slim, flat throwing knives she preferred to kunai.

She was a little surprised when Sasuke allowed her to advance, but a glint from the corner of her eye was all the warning she received. _Wires! Wires attached to the shuriken!_

_ Too many_, was the only other thought she had time for, mind calculating which she should allow to hit so as to avoid the crippling and fatal blows that lurked in the swarm. And then the smell of sweat and sunshine surrounded her, Naruto at every turn blocking the shuriken, giving her time to lunch forward past the worst of the danger.

"Thanks!" she shouted at him without ever turning her eyes from her target, deft fingers already at her calves and forearms, ridding herself of the weights that had almost become a part of her, she'd worn them for so long.

Shedding them felt like flying. Sasuke's red eyes widened as she flashed forward, suddenly free. All her worries and hesitation fell away, heart soaring as her feet barely seemed to skim the ground. _If my body belongs to the Hokage, my soul to my family, and my heart to my friends, what is left for _me_? _This was the answer to that question. This awful, glorious, tremendous exertion that exceeded human limitation. Here, she no longer needed to plead with the kami. She was a war god herself, frightening and untouchable, fierce and _invincible. _

Shifting Sands-style taijutsu, her own hands moving too fast for her eyes to follow, saw one of the clone-Sasuke losing an arm in an explosion of black blood that felt strangely real upon her face before the clone dispersed, the smoke giving her the instant she needed to reach out for a clone-Sasuke taking advantage of the same moment, her fingers closing over his face, eyes giving way first beneath her fingers before his forehead caved in and the close disappeared with a loud _pop!_

Naruto, while she'd been busy, had somehow gotten rid of the last clone, which left them facing Sasuke once again. Naruto snarled, growing ever more bestial as the fight progressed, but before they could rush Sasuke as one, Sakura felt a strange sensation spread across the roof of her mouth, echoed a moment later in her brain, then there was a masked and cloaked figure standing in front of Sasuke.

"Get out of the way!" Naruto bellowed.

Sakura practiced no such niceties, appearing just before the intruder with a side kick prepared that should have turned his internal organs into soup. But rather than the solidity of flesh, her foot encountered only air. However, the man's hand seemed quite real as he grabbed hold of her ankle, twisting it awkwardly as he tossed her to the side.

Sakura recovered her footing gingerly, putting no weight on the smarting ankle. The pain alone should have been enough to dispel the genjutsu, but to her surprise the man appeared just the same as he had earlier. She ran through the fail-safe genjutsu dispelling techniques quickly, but all was for naught.

The man waggled a finger at her. "Ah, ah, Tobi is not using a genjutsu. Guess again, pretty kunoichi!"

The childish tone from what appeared to be a full-grown man was somewhat appalling. Especially as said man was a member of Akatsuki, according to his cloak. There was a faint ripple in Itachi's chakra from behind her, discernible only because she'd been using her talents at chakra sensing to 'see' when her eyes could no longer follow her taijutsu.

_I don't remember this one from any of the Akatsuki profiles. In fact, they shouldn't even have a spare ring. _

"My, Sasuke," she said aloud, "I didn't think much of the company you kept before, but this is a new low even for you, isn't it?"

He sneered at her, his dark lips emphasizing the gesture.

_Itachi, what are you waiting for? _she thought furiously. _Even if he is an Akatsuki member, the odds are still in our favor. But only if we act quickly. What are you waiting for?!_

_Unless, _Madara's reassuringly assured tone asserted, _that man is someone even Uchiha Itachi dare not engage. _

Sakura wracked her brain. _You know, I always assumed that Kage of the Shinobi Nations could assemble against him and he wouldn't flinch. Thanks to Sasuke, Itachi has always been kind of mythic figure for me. Meeting him hasn't changed that. So far as I know, Itachi hasn't any loyalty to the Akatsuki-he's been operating according to his own agenda for all this time, after all. Beyond that, there's only the possibility he can't defeat him in combat or that showing his hand in front of this man will somehow endanger Sasuke. Those are the only options. _

_ His actions are his own. Our concern must be what you will do. _

Sakura tested her ankle subtly as Naruto began talking, Kakashi moving forward to speak to their guest as well. White-hot pain shot upwards along her tendon-not broken, but badly sprained. She redirected her chakra to support it and heal it, such as within the realm of her regenerative abilities, but a hand on her shoulder preempted whatever action she might have taken.

It was Itachi's voice that spoke close to her ear. "Taichou, we cannot afford to enter into a battle with that man."

"But...?" she answered, her mouth barely moving, sensing that his thought was unfinished.

"We need to get Sasuke from him."

"And what do you suggest?"

Silence met her question, which was unnerving. Itachi was never unprepared for anything. Which likely meant he didn't like the answer he was about to give her.

"He can manipulate space-it is within his ability to create dimensional pockets where his body is safe from all attack."

_Invulnerable._ The word was unspoken, but Sakura frowned, staring hard at the strange orange mask and unruly hair of the strange ninja. Only Madara had ever seemed that way to her, but now, here she was meeting an enemy truly invulnerable to attack?

"That should be impossible."

"I assure you, it is not."

"Are there limits to this ability? Vulnerabilities?"

"If there are, they remain undiscovered."

Sakura nodded, plans twisting through her mind. She was glad beyond words that Madara was there, his aura already entwining with hers, like becoming a tapestry shot through with threads of steel, telling her that defeat was something unimaginable and that there was no enemy, not even a god, that couldn't be touched, crushed, thrown down.

In a saner moment, the last thought would have given her pause.

Sakura replaced her mask so that the newcomer wouldn't be able to read her lips, if he bothered to take his eyes from Naruto or Kakashi. "What is his interest in Sasuke?"

"What do you mean, taichou?"

"It isn't out of the generosity of his heart that he's here. If I had to guess, given the timing of Danzou's death-," she'd finally puzzled out what that sensation had meant, "and his appearance, this man might be the third Uchiha. The one you've so carefully avoiding talking about. That conversation belongs to another time, but what is his interest in Sasuke? What is he using him for?"

"Most immediately, probably for the destruction of Konohagakure. Especially if that foolishness Sasuke was spouting came from his influence."

"Then he won't be adverse to giving him to us," Sakura murmured in a low voice. "After all, nowhere better for the snake than in the nest. Especially if you reveal yourself, though I don't want to lose that advantage. Though perhaps he already knows. When I give the signal, Seiryuu and Suzaku will take care of Sasuke's squad. I will cooperate with Naruto and Kakashi in order to create a distraction. During that time, it is your responsibility to retrieve your brother. My safety is immaterial-retrieving Sasuke is your first priority."

Sakura knew the faint disappointment at his immediate agreement was silly, but it couldn't be helped. Neji could be relied on without question, Sai with some allowance for his shortcomings, but a part of her wanted to be greedy, to know that Itachi was also a strand in her support net if she fell from the dangerous wire she was balancing on. But it didn't matter now. In a matter of months, Konohagakure would know. And that would be the end of the dream.


	31. The Waking Dream

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would therefore own both Itachi and Neji and I would have no time to write this fic.

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers-you've stayed with me through a rewrite of epic proportions, a word count large enough for two novels, and my haphazard update schedule and slapdash editing. With your support, you've made this story one of the most popular Sakura-centric fics where romance isn't the central theme. So, again, thank you.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-One-

The Waking Dream

"Say, Tobi," Sakura said, her clear voice cutting through Naruto's questions, "why was Akatsuki created?"

Naruto glanced over at the girl like she'd grown a second head, which was a fairly reasonable response, Sasuke thought. _Why would she ask something like that? _

She'd briefly fallen back to speak to one of her subordinates, but now she was at the fore of the battle again, almost within striking distance of the man he knew to be Uchiha Madara. Her mask was off again, her expression open and curious.

It had to be as false as the personality "Tobi" displayed.

"What kind of dream could unite some of the most notorious missing-nin from countries across the continent? Not money. That's gotten easily enough by someone with their talent. Power? Would they be content to share it? That doesn't seem likely," she ruminated aloud. "So what could motivate nine men and one woman from different villages to form an alliance?"

Sasuke was wary of Sakura, who could almost count words as her secondary weapon, but for once it was not he who was the target. And the man she was speaking to was more than her equal. "So the kunoichi is clever as well as pretty," Madara observed. "Does the pretty, smart kunoichi also have a dream?"  
Sakura smiled at him, a sad and weary expression that send a shockwave through him. For the first time, Sakura, who'd always seemed younger than either he or Naruto, looked _old_. "I expect," she said softly, "even the man about to be executed has a dream. But some dreams are too personal to be shared and lose their preciousness if given too freely. My dream is that kind of dream. But Akatsuki isn't a person-it's an organization. Surely it's dream can be given to outsiders?"

Sasuke scoffed silently, wondering why she was going through all this trouble. Akatsuki had made their goal clear: world peace, even at the cost of global war. What did she have to gain by goading Tobi into saying it aloud? Was she stalling for time? Given that she and her squad were the reinforcements, it seemed a tactic that would only work against her side, giving his team members time to regenerate their chakra. Or was Konohagakure's information network even weaker than he'd thought?

Tobi _tsked _at her. "Sharing is only for Akatsuki members."

Sakura tilted her head slightly to the side, eyes narrowing, then her hand went to her neck, where she unhooked a necklace. Holding something up that glittered in the sunlight, Sasuke's own eyes widened. _Akatsuki rings. _

"I have this terrible habit of taking things that belong to others when they don't need them or deserve them any longer," she said dryly. Sliding one of the rings free from the chain, she slipped it onto her right ring finger. She flexed her hand, like she was adjusting to the feel of the band, but as she turned the back of her hand to him, Sasuke stiffened. He knew the kanji on the ring. _Vermillion._

Each ring among the Akatsuki was unique and the one she was wearing belonged to Uchiha Itachi.

-X-X-X-

The as yet-mysterious Uchiha gasped, the sound loud and exaggerated. "Tobi was looking for that! Leader-sama was very upset when Hoshigaki-sama and Uchiha-sama disappeared."

Sakura's lips twitched, but she did not comment. "This should fulfill the primary requirement for being a member of the Akatsuki. I'm not asking for the _how _you intend to accomplish your goals, I simply want to know _what _it is you hope to accomplish."

Tobi tilted his head, looking much like a curious bird. "Why?"

"Why not?"

Tobi chuckled. "What Tobi wants most is world peace!" he said, throwing out his hands in an encompassing gesture.

"Peace?" Kakashi asked, speaking for the first time.

This time Tobi's chuckle was lower and darker. "Yes, Hatake-san. A world totally free of war and suffering. That is the goal of Akatsuki."

Sakura couldn't help the sneer that twisted her lips. "What an ugly madman's dream," the words slipped freely from her lips.

"Oh?" the enemy prompted, but members of her own side looked curiously upon her response.

"Conflict occurs because we're all capable of individual thought. We all have desires and dreams. It is inevitable that those dreams will overlap with the desires of others-when that occurs on a massive scale and it cannot be solved through negotiations or compromise, it's what we call a war. For world peace to occur, we'd need a world full of passionless, sterile people or a hive mind to guide us along on a universal path. Neither sounds appealing to me."

"So you'd rather there be war? Isn't that cruel of you, Konoha-nin? Or have you never lost anyone?" It was a question designed to send a weaker person stumbling, fumbling for an answer that didn't paint them as worse than the enemy they were trying to defeat, meant to make her apologize for her callousness. But they-she and Madara-apologized for nothing they did not regret. And Sakura did not regret her urgent desire for a mind unencumbered by someone else's ideal of peace.

"I accept conflict," Sakura said softly, "as the cost of living. My whole world is based on violence: you haven't asked me to save that world, you're asking me to destroy it. War is ugly. Even someone who hasn't lived through one knows that. But people are also ugly. And you can change everything about a person but their nature-and it is our _nature _to make war."

"So you blame it on nature, then? Is that your excuse when you blindly kill as you're told? Because it is some instinct born into humankind?" His swirled orange mask concealed his expression, but his voice was full of scorn. "Are we no better than animals?"

Sakura shrugged the question off like raindrops on oiled leather. "I'm not philosopher enough to answer that question. I was simply trying to answer you. I only wanted to know if that dream concealed another, but it seems like what you say is true: Akatsuki was formed around the ideal of world peace. The question becomes, how far would you go to achieve it?"

"As far as the moon," the man answered cryptically and Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"All of you Uchiha entertain outlandish dreams," Sakura murmured, loud enough she was sure to be heard. And heard she was, the silence suddenly becoming deadening around them. She spared a brief thought to Itachi, hoping he wouldn't be distracted from his task, but quickly dismissed it. Itachi had shaped his life around this goal-whatever she did now, it wouldn't matter to him. "Maybe you'd like to tell me your real name now, To-bi," she hit the syllables of his false name mockingly.

His voice, which had changed in tone during their brief discussion, was now the deep voice of a man that might have been called dark had she not Madara's to compare it to. "Uchiha Madara," the man said with great satisfaction.

"What?" Naruto snapped. "But that would make you-_old_," he finished lamely after he visibly scrambled for the foundation date of the village.

"It's not impossible, but it is improbable," Kakashi said, but even he looked visibly wary now.

Madara chuckled. "Care to try that eye against a real Uchiha, Hatake?" he challenged.

"Uchiha...Madara?" Sakura felt her mouth form the words, but her mind trailed behind her physical actions. Inside her body, Madara shifted with interest towards his real-world counterpart, which made the sensitive planes of her body-the pads of her fingers, the bottom of her feet, and for some strange reason her eyelids-tingle like blood was rushing into them after they'd gone to sleep.

_Hmm. _Tension and anticipation tightened her muscles, but then, slowly, he began to intrude less on her consciousness until the entanglement of personalities was no more than what passed for normal on high-stress missions. _You don't need my assistance. _

_ What?! _It was an ungainly shriek inside her mind, but her face remained as smooth as ever as part of her processed the argument occurring outside her body. _But if that's the _real _Madara...!_

There was a long silence from her Madara, then, _Are you afraid? _

Sakura's instinct was to reply, _Yes_, but she paused, searching her emotions. _Why aren't I afraid of him? If he was Madara, I'd-_she didn't know what she would have felt, really. Fear? Certainly. There was no one she knew more capable of destroying her in an instant. But not only fear; Madara entranced her in like a moth cannot help but be drawn to a flame. He was absolute, undefeatable, confident beyond measure and how she _envied_ him that.

It was that part of him she wished she could steal away his strength, take it and make it hers, but there was no need. Because she and Madara were inseparable in a way no one short of a Yamanaka would understand. He knew instantly as her thoughts shifted, analyzing the flow of the conversation, checking the word choice and general vibe of her conversation against the journals and letters that had been in Madara's effects, comparing him to the Madara she knew best.

_He wasn't Madara. _

She didn't know how she was so certain, given that she was basing it only on old journals and a fractured piece of her psyche, but she knew. The Madara in the journals, the Madara in her mind, neither would ever have concealed themselves or their intentions by acting out "Tobi." Not to say deception was beyond them, but it was as strange as imaging Itachi speaking an octave or two above his normal range, speaking casually to all and sundry, and generally behaving childishly. It wouldn't be the path Madara would choose.

Even though this explained Sasuke's boundless confidence and Itachi's reluctance.

_Those used to seeing without effort are those who are most easily blinded. _

_ But Itachi-_

_ Was a child. Not an infallible god. Destroy all such delusions or be destroyed by them. _

Sakura turned her gaze outward once more, taking in the figure that seemed somehow diminished now. His mask obscured his face, but she could pick out nothing familiar in his stance or the line of his body from the hundred pictures she'd seen, from the Madara who was realer to her than this pretender.

_He wasn't Madara. _

To her horror, Sakura could feel the warm promise of tears, the dry ache of her mouth, and a hollow in the pit of her stomach that she hadn't felt for years. Her heart was breaking and it was the most embarrassing moment in her recent memory, being brought to the verge of tears at the realization that the man in front of her _was not Madara_. It was even worse than crying for Danzou, more invasive and less explainable. She'd given years of her life and any pretension of innocence she'd ever possessed to Danzou, but Madara had only ever been real to her, a secret hidden deep in her heart.

_What I would have given, if he'd been real, _she thought numbly, shocked at the extent of her own desolation. _Why? Why would it matter that much to me? It's not like I have romantic delusions about the men in my head, but..._

_ I wanted to see him. _

_ I wanted to speak to him, knowing it wasn't my mind supplying the script. _

_ I wanted to interact in a way that others would acknowledge as "real." _

_ I wanted to know-who would win?_

Rancid hate and anger boiled upwards to fill the aching cavity of her chest. Madara, _her _Madara, breathed steadiness into the flame, seducing her into the state where she felt like living flame, greater than the small, weak Sakura that she couldn't escape.

"You're not Madara," she snarled aloud, sending the discussion in front of her to a screeching halt. "You will _never _be Madara," she hissed at the imposter, one hand signaling to her squad members and the other dipping into her supply pouch.

She wouldn't regret this-she hated being a distraction at the best of times, a reminder of the past where she'd been good for little else-but no matter how skilled this shinobi was, he didn't deserve to be battles as if he was an enemy that had her respect. No matter if Madara himself had given himself permission to use his name, as unlikely a scenario as that was, she couldn't respect anyone who needed to use the name of someone infamous to achieve their ends.

Everything Sakura was, she'd earned it herself. Though she used the Haruno trading connections, her parents hadn't paid for anything ninja-related since before she'd become chunnin. Being Tsunade's sometimes-apprentice had opened forbidden vaults, but she'd more than earned that on her own merit, being the Hokage's dog in Danzou's camp. And Danzou-not in ten lifetimes could he have erased the debt he'd incurred with anything less than the training he'd given her.

Piggybacking on Madara's name was unacceptable. So changing her battle strategy to Naruto's was. _It's a pity, _she thought, _the others are here. _Poison knew neither friend nor foe, so she could not use it as easily as she had when she'd faced Sasuke.

Hands filled with kunai knives, she dashed forward even as the thoughts passed through her mind, keeping up the momentum of her denouncement. She feinted like she'd make a frontal attack, but then used chakra-enhanced speed to appear behind Tobi, her kunai drawing a dotted line between them as he leaped easily out of the way.

She could almost feel his incredulity as she repeated the gesture again, pushing him further back into a battlefield suddenly alive with movement as her squad efficiently and ruthlessly disabled Sasuke's squad, focusing the battle on two separate fronts, she against Tobi and Sasuke for the moment looking on warily, but this time no once engaged him in battle, instead content to keep him from the action. _And out of my way, _she thought with satisfaction.

Hands lighting on a sealing scroll, she whipped it open, hundreds of kunai bursting from the unfurled page, thousands of pale pink paper petals fluttering between them. She made eye contact daringly with the other nin, knowing that whether the battlefield was internal or external, she would not, could not lose. A smile, predatory and triumphant, stretched her lips, clear on her unmasked face. _Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu, _she thought with satisfaction as she dived underground as the world lit up with light and sound around her.

When she reemerged only moments later, the earth they'd been standing on was scorched, but the masked ninja was unharmed.

But Sakura wasn't out of flashy tricks yet. Forcing chakra out in a burst through her heal, she forced the very earth itself to crack and buck, dislodging the kunai she'd thrown earlier. Kunai that exploded as she forced more chakra into the seals engraved on their blades, seals that had been concealed while the kunai had been buried to the hilt, slinging metal shrapnel with abandon across the battlefield. Again, the ninja was unharmed, but it seemed she could detect the faintest hint of irritation and interest from him.

So long as her explosives and chakra held out, all would be well. She didn't need to kill him, after all, simply stop him from participating in the battle. With her peripheral vision, she'd noticed the others herding Sasuke away from her battle. Soon he would leave their line of sight completely, which would have to be enough. Sharingan was not the Hyuuga bloodline limit, after all. Though as a doujutsu its abilities were approaching appallingly ridiculous.

Shino remained with her, something she was grateful for. Just as her wide spread attacks were preventing the shinobi from materializing, thereby opening her to his potentially devastating counter-attacks, Shino's swarms would be able to create the same effect. _Tsunade-shishou should consider promoting him soon, _Sakura noted, but she closed the gap between them, this time reaching into her pack for the familiar blown glass weapons that were filled with powdered poisons.

"What makes you think I'm not who I say I am?" the shinobi's voice gave her pause as she stared at him incredulously, her hands not faltering even in her distraction. _Wasn't the talking over?_

"Because Madara takes," Sakura said as the impact of glass preceding a rising cloud of poisonous dust that coated the battlefield liberally. "Madara wouldn't bother to lie, Tobi. He'd shake the world until it fell to pieces and the consequences be damned," she spat.

It was hard to tell behind that mask, but his single visible eye narrowed as he re-assessed her. "You seem quite familiar with me. But I've never met you before."

"Even if you were Madara, that statement would be true. Madara was before my time."

"And yet you still think that I am not Uchiha Madara?"

Sakura, for once, could not tell what expression she was wearing on her face. Too many emotions were jumbled together to be suppressed so easily. "Madara is like Naruto," she whispered fiercely, reaching for another scroll, calculating how much time she could buy with her chakra and her remaining arsenal. "They burn like the sun. You're like me, nothing more than the moon, caught up in their orbit. You'll never shine with anything more than reflected light."

-X-X-X-

Sasuke scowled fiercely at the damn ANBU who'd come forward to confront him after they'd left the clearing. "Shouldn't you be looking after your captain?" he taunted as he tried to break through his opponent's guard. Though he was wielding Kusanagi, the sword that could cut through anything, his enemy was keeping him at bay with nothing more than a kunai. "Madara will kill her."

Sasuke couldn't quite say if his opponent hesitated or not, but he was able to slip the tip of his blade through his guard, a mistake quickly corrected. Not so quickly that it saved his ridiculous mask, though. A tortoise didn't exactly evoke fear and terror.

But between the space of one heartbeat and the next, Sasuke felt as if he had been punched in the solar plexus by Sakura. Because that was a face he _knew_, the face of the person he had adored, hated, and hunted for years. _Itachi._

His Sharingan was activated, but there was no genjutsu to peer through. No deception he could make out. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded icily.

Unlike the emotion that twisted his face as well as his heart, his brother looked as composed as ever. "It's time to come home, Sasuke," his brother murmured. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be." His voice was set in the familiar tonal patterns he remembered from his childhood: sterner than his mother, kinder than his father, with the all-knowing calmness of a sage.

He hated it. "Home? The home you destroyed, aniki? Was your defection just another ploy?" he asked him bitterly. "Are you really working for Konohagakure again? Even after everything?"

"Hate solves nothing. And neither does regret."

If it was possible for the curse seal to advance to a third stage, Sasuke was certain he could have achieved it at this moment. He had been willing to compromise with the Itachi who had been manipulated by the village for their own ends, but an Itachi who had betrayed him not once, but twice? Returning to the very people that had asked him to kill everyone Sasuke had held dear?

"What happened to cultivating my hatred?" he lashed out with both his words and his weapons, sending a flight of shuriken towards his brother, who danced gracefully through the storm. _Still the same. Always the same! _His brother had always, always been untouchable.

"That was a mistake," Itachi said softly.

"Konoha show you the error of your ways?"

Itachi's expression hardened. "Konohagakure has been kind enough in its own way. But taichou was certain to point how very short-sighted my plans were. I understand you were given the same treatment, but it seems that you've been listening to me for so long you are no longer able to take good advice."

"Taichou? You seriously-," his mind couldn't quit bend itself around the idea of his brother as a subordinate to his former teammate. "Do all of you think I'm just going to fall into line? That I'll just return to the village and forget everything they've done to me? To our family?" he challenged Itachi. "What sort of genjutsu did she use to bring you back?"

"That is a story that taichou doesn't have time for," Itachi said and even Sasuke, who was hopeless at chakra tracking, could feel chakra writhing in the distance as Sakura and Madara battled. "Just understand, Sasuke, that everything I did was for the village. It does not change or excuse my actions, but it might explain to you my next one. Otouto, if you go attack the village, I won't stand between you and Sakura."

Sasuke blinked. _Not, "I will stop you myself?" _

"Sasuke." It was Naruto and his voice was rough with emotion. "Please."

Instantly furious at the interruption, he would have rounded on his former teammate, but Itachi stepped between them, obscuring the blonde ninja.

"Otouto, please understand that we are carving the time for this conversation out of my taichou's life. I would have like the leisure to allow you to purge your grievances, but you've acquired another troublesome caretaker."

Sasuke smiled at him nastily, somehow stung by the reminder that this fight was not the one-on-one he had always envisioned. There had always been something more important to Itachi and that, at least, continued to be true. "If Sakura is so important, why don't you go save her from Madara?"

"Because that would be in violation of her orders. Nothing, not even her death, is supposed to interfere with our retrieval of you." Itachi said the words without censure and yet Sasuke felt as if he'd just been scolded.

Words escaped his mouth before his mind could censure them. "So, Itachi, even now the only thing you can do is follow orders. What if I told you to go fuck yourself?"

His cheek was stinging before he'd even realized Itachi had moved. "Don't be vulgar, Sasuke. You're no longer a child. So indulge in your hurt feelings in a more proper setting."

Sasuke opened his mouth, but another familiar voice cut into the conversation. "Uchiha." He recognized Hyuuga Neji's voice, the stiff, proud way he spoke. "If Sakura dies, not even your brother can protect you from me. So make your decision quickly."

Sasuke's grip trembled on the hilt of his sword, but then his grip firmed. "Do you have any idea what utter bullshit this sounds like to me? They were my family!"

There was no sympathy in the Hyuuga's voice. "It was a long time ago. Time blunts all pain. Or did you forget that my own father was offered up as nothing more than a sacrifice to prevent an international disturbance? He, at least, did nothing more wrong than be born into the Hyuuga clan after his brother. Your family plotted rebellion. I won't tell you that they earned their deaths, but they weren't innocent either."

There was no retort he could make to that calm, measured statement that wouldn't seem rash in comparison.

"I am not asking you to forgive me, Sasuke," Itachi said. "And I am not asking you to forget. I am asking you to move beyond the massacre. I have killed almost every other member of the Uchiha clan-today will determine if I have destroyed you as well."

-X-X-X-

Either her arms were trembling or the ground was. Sakura blinked hazily, her vision not clearing in time to prevent the foot from connecting with her jaw, sending her tumbling. She rolled to her feet, breathing in concentrated bursts through gritted teeth. Rarely had she felt so human and so helpless.

She wasn't certain what emotion led to the fourth Kingdom, but she could peer into its welcoming depths now. Pain tore open the gate, increment by increment. Sakura could see it even more clearly than her current battle, smell the stench of wet, rotting leaves like she was deep in a swamp. It was a submerged world, dark and uncomfortably chilly. Part of her stood on the surface of that still water, the only disturbance the reaching fingers of drowned trees and the faint whisper of a wind that didn't disturb the water.

He stood there, his back to her, one hand clasping an opposite wrist behind his back in a pose she knew well. Danzou was waiting.

But Madara cauterized her pain, clicking the world back into focus, stealing away the image of the Fourth Kingdom. _To fall is to be defeated, _he admonished her even as he forced her aching body into a steadier stance, _and we cannot lose. _

"Still don't believe I'm Uchiha Madara?" Tobi mocked her.

Sakura was briefly grateful that she'd managed to send Shino on his way once Tobi had grown irritated and decided to fight back. Now they were all safe and Madara was right. She couldn't lose now. Even if she died in this battle, she would die a hero. Her life in exchange for Sasuke's redemption and Itachi's peace.

Putting it that way, it didn't sound so bad.

She knew she was a mess. Tobi might not be Madara, but he knew all his jutsu. And that, more than anything, confirmed her opinion that he was not Madara. Because he would never be satisfied, never be finished perfecting a jutsu. Never be content with what he'd created. That was the bane of those with boundless ambition: no matter how much they accomplished, contentment languished beyond their reach.

Not to belittle the jutsu that had already ravaged her body, by any means. Her face still felt like someone had taken a paintbrush dipped in acid in a wide, artistic stroke from her left cheekbone to her right temple. It was the pain she could ignore least, though not the only injury she'd suffered.

In comparison, Tobi was nearly pristine.

The conclusion seemed inevitable, and yet, if she'd been the kind to accept things as they were, she would be tucked safely away in Konoha right now.

Her consciousness was wavering, but she ignored the darkening edges of her vision. Chakra made her vocal cords stiffen, so that when she spoke, it was with the same voice that she heard so often in her mind. "Didn't I say it before? However desperately you pretend, you will never be Uchiha Madara."

-X-X-X-

"Sakura," Neji whispered painfully.

A tiny sliver of green iris was exposed as she attempted to focus on him, but her eyelids seemed too heavy, her gaze blank. "Welcome back," she said with a heartbreaking attempt at a smile. Only the tree behind her back supported her, hands played open and weaponless across outstretched legs. Her skin was a patchwork of bruised, blistered skin, and an ugly seeping wound sliced across her face.

"I should've stayed," he murmured.

"You'd have only gotten in the way. Poison, y'know," she mumbled. "Suppose you might've called it a stalemate. He couldn't afford to breathe any more and I refused to lay down and die and give him the satisfaction."

He couldn't help the weak smile that spread across his face and he crouched down in front of her, afraid to do any more. There didn't even seem to be a place he could touch her without causing her more pain. "You've done well, taichou." His fingers, almost without his consent, began to travel toward the ugly wound on her face, but he flinched back before he made contact with her skin. Emotion threatened to choke his words, but he let none of it show on his face, aware that the others would arrive soon. "Let's go home, Sakura."


	32. The Sun Also Rises

Disclaimer: Standard.

A/N: If you want to try some of my original fiction, visit my blog over at augustdrempt wordpress com (Just fill in those spaces with periods). Just search for The work I have posted there is a sci-fi fic I wrote as a favor, so it's not the best work I've ever done, but it might entertain you in the lulls between updates. It has the advantage of being pre-written for another hundred pages beyond what I've already got posted.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-Two-

The Sun Also Rises

Tsunade had stopped wasting precious chakra trying to dislodge Hyuuga Neji from his seat next to the door. It had taken a good ten minutes to convince him to release Sakura and let the medics do their job-now he seemed content to peer at them with his bloodline limit activated and scowl as her poor subordinates tried to untangle the nastiest cocktail of poisons she'd ever seen before Haruno Sakura succumbed to her own weapon.

Itachi had shared with her what information he could, but Sakura seemed determined to take her closest secrets to the grave. Tsunade had encountered the rare and exotic before, treated them with some success, but never all at once. _Just who were you trying to kill?_ she thought with irritation at the still face of the kunoichi, her skin slick with a sweat that smelled faintly sweet. "Any luck?" she barked at the medic who'd been assigned to sift through Sakura's pouch in search of antidotes.

The man's voice was curt with frustration; he almost snarled at her for the interruption. "She's sealed half the damn things and the rest are unlabeled."

"Take them to the lab," she ordered.

"But there must be the ingredients for-" Tsunade cut him off before he could start speculating on derivative poisons.

"_Now._"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied, taking the pouch and sweeping from the room between the twin sentinels to either side of the door. While she was uncertain Neji had even blinked since they'd begun the poison extraction process, Sai seemed to be at his leisure, sketching with an artist's focus, as if he was at his home and not in a trauma room.

"She's going to scar. Badly," Shizune murmured to the older blonde woman, as if she felt guilty over the fact.

"She should just be grateful whatever it was that did that missed her eyes." But, yes, there would be an obvious and distinctive scar left if Sakura managed to cling to the faint life yet pulsing through her veins. Across the bridge of her nose, at its widest point, the scar was almost an inch wide, still an angry red even after the healing, though Tsunade noted with approval that Shizune had prevented the accumulation of a thick knot of disfiguring tissue. But even with that concession, it was still ghastly-looking, echoed two or three times across her body, but in no place worse than across her face. Even now, she wasn't certain what had caused it. The damage itself looked to be caused by something that burned, but the patterning was peculiar, almost as someone had taken a flammable gel and used it as a whip, cauterizing even as it split skin.

It was the most distinctive of her injuries, but not the only one. Coupled with the internal damage that her own poisons were wrecking, Tsunade was actually surprised the girl had made it back to Konoha without a proper medic on hand. And there were old injuries, badly healed, that she had to frown at.

Shizune played nervously with her hands now that her part was done, not yet allowed to take over for one of the other medics in a bid to conserve chakra for the drawn-out process of putting Sakura to rights. "I thought she'd been building a tolerance to all her poisons?"

Tsunade frowned over at her first apprentice, her attention never really leaving her own work. "It was just that, a tolerance. When she exposed herself to levels of toxin this high, even that wasn't enough." As soon as she judged it safe to step outside for a moment, she'd also have to give orders to secure the battlefield: Itachi'd had the presence of mind to scorch the area, but she'd send in a second team to be certain Sakura had turned the area into a biological hazard, the first rain sending her exotic poisons into the groundwater, seeping into wells and rivers, killing off innocent villagers and potentially creating an international issue as the battle had occurred outside Fire County's borders.

She'd have to be wary, for as soon as she left the sacrosanct halls of the hospital, the elders would pounce, demanding plans and punishments for the Uchiha and an accounting of what would be done with Root now that its leader was dead.

There was so much work to be done. Unfortunately, there was only one Hokage.

-X-X-X-

_I should have stayed. _It did not matter that his rational mind knew he would have succumbed to the poison long before either Sakura or her enemy. His dominant feeling was one of guilt, as if he had abandoned his long-time partner for the Uchiha brat. His secondary feeling was anger, at both said brat and Sakura herself.

_You're always the one who is nattering on to Naruto about choosing his battles. Why couldn't you have taken your own advice? _he railed at her silently, glowering at her as his hands clenched tightly on his knees. _Is Sasuke still that important to you ? I thought you'd moved beyond that! My Sakura-no, the Sakura who dared to assemble the Four Celestial Beasts, the Sakura who is an ANBU captain, the Sakura who spent years as a dog of Root-that Sakura would have never done something stupid. _

His stomach turned as he thought the last words, but his anger didn't abate. _If you die, Sakura, I won't forgive you for this, _he threatened her silently, willing the words to penetrate her coma.

-X-X-X-

Sai tilted his head slightly to the side as he critically examined his latest sketch. For reasons he didn't quite grasp, he'd needed to complete this set of sketches, much like he needed food or water. It had seemed necessary, not an indulgence or an escape, as Danzou had snidely remarked more than once about his extraneous art.

It was Sakura. They were all Sakura.

The captain when she was giving orders for Sasuke's retrieval, what her expression might have looked like behind the fierce mask. Itachi was only a dark curve that framed her, a focal point for the expression he'd used all his skill to give life to. Sai did not speculate on whether the expression he had chosen was the correct one, proud and confident, hard and brittle. Only her eyes asked for anything more than obedience; those he'd found himself drawing with a softer line, like she was apologizing for what she was about to do.

Sakura when she talked with Neji, their bodies closer than they realized, a perfect harmony between them, one action flowing into the next. Himself, included, Sakura's hand sure around his wrist. And Itachi, again framing her, this time to the left, a perfect barrier for the eye, his figure less dynamic than the others, startling and jarring.

Bleeding on the floor, unbroken. Startled into laughter, tea cupped in her hands. Chastising Naruto, her face animated, her cheeks flushed. Some just wispy lines, to capture an expression, others detailed, fleshed out. But all drawn with haste, as if she might leave his memory the moment she stopped breathing, so these had to be finished before that time came.

They were scattered round him, in no particular order. Some of them rustled as someone slipped in the door, earning a scathing remark but no real attention from the Hokage. From the state of his papers, he realized they must have been here for hours already. To his surprise, he noted that at some point Itachi had joined them and the new visitor was the Hyuuga clan head. _Shouldn't protocol be keeping all these people out? _he thought with no real interest. Exceptions were made, after all, for the dying.

-X-X-X-

Sakura peered uneasily at the figure before her. Not a figure unfamiliar, but not the one expected.

"It is rude to stare," Madara observed, but he had no room to speak, his eyes meeting her own in a proprietary manner. They were sitting in the tall grass of the Garden, he sprawled more casually than she'd ever seen him on his side, his cheek resting on his hand as the soft breeze tugged at his hair.

"I thought you would be Danzou."

There was a soft rumble of a chuckle. "I pulled you from the Fourth Kingdom. Are you disappointed?"

"Disturbed. I didn't know that was even possible."

Madara's free hand reached out to brush away a stray lock of hair from her face, making her aware of the scant distance between them. "I crushed the emotion required to unlock the Fourth Kingdom." He made it sound so simple, so uncomplicated that she was torn between the need to hurt him and a reverent awe that really needn't increase any. Because that would cloud her objectivity, her ability to remove herself from her gratitude and realize the implication of such control.

"Madara...," she breathed. "What have you done?"

"Poor question. Again."

"Have you always been able to do that?" she pressed. "From the very beginning? It shouldn't be possible. Kami-sama knows Orochimaru would have done it if he was able. What makes you different?"

"Because, unlike Orochimaru, I have the capacity to supplant you as the primary personality." His eyes did not flinch, but Sakura did. He hadn't released her hair, still had the pink strands pinched between his fingers and they pulled, a small, sharp pain. "I am more fully realized than he could dream of being. Your psychosis was new, fragile. Childlike. He was nothing more than an invisible friend with which you played cruel games. Haku was no different-such a tiny shard of personality he could not even follow you into another Kingdom. But I am unlike them. And I have no desire to descend to that watery grave and listen to endless servile thoughts, so in this Kingdom you will stay." With a sudden movement, he'd wound his hand tight in her hair, a painful grip that didn't allow her to turn her head. "You should give careful consideration to the alternative. For once in the Grave, all it will take is but one little slip and you'll tumble into an abyss even I cannot draw you from."

Sakura all but bared her teeth at him. "And to protect me from myself, you'll control our every action from now on?"

Madara's lips quirked in amusement. "Hardly. Your body is unsuitable for me. Your have a chakra affinity for fire, but that is where the resemblance ends. It would take an act of the kami to reconcile that Madara _you _have created to an existence in the body you have destroyed."

And, just like that, Sakura was reminded she was dying. Again. Madara released her hair and allowed her to sprawl on the grass, tucking her arms behind her head as she watched the imaginary sky. "It was worth it," she said aloud.

She could almost feel a dark brow rise. "There is no one here but you. Need you convince yourself?"

Sakura sighed. "I know. I know." She deepened her voice and mocked Madara's usual tone. "_Do nothing without conviction. _And I _did _confront that lying bastard with conviction. Who did he think he was trying to fool, anyway? Only an Uchiha would be dumb enough to fall for the whole "I am the great ancestor, now I will lead you on to what our clan deserves" spiel. I mean, really. How in the world do you prove you're a legend like Uchiha Madara? He didn't even look like him," she whined, knowing her voice had turned petulant. "And the jutsu? The Sharingan is custom-made to copy jutsu. Any of his contemporaries could have copied them and passed them down. Weren't there _any _skeptics in the Uchiha clan? Even Itachi bought into it."

"People are quick to believe what they wish to believe. The Uchiha clan, which has always been hungering for power, is offered it. Working to convince them isn't the issue. They half-believe the story even as he is telling them it. The key is to press just hard enough to never give them time to reflect or doubt, without it seeming like you are panicking or driving them over a cliff. People are like lemmings. You need only herd them in the right direction."

"Whereas, if you were there, they needn't have worried. You would have already taken care of any takeover plans," Sakura muttered. "So this is it, then? This is what the end looks like?"

"You have no faith in your Hokage?"

Sakura watched clouds as they were chased across the sky by the same breeze that urged the grass to sting at her bare legs. _This might be the first time I've seen clouds here. _"Time-it moves differently here. I don't know if we've even made it back to Konohagakure yet. I might die in the field. And even if they do get me home, there is one thing I have faith in-my weapons. Tsunade-shishou will have to have the poisons analyzed. She'll break them down, but it takes time. What she works isn't miracles, it's science, so far as poisons go."

Madara made a sound of understanding deep in his throat.

"What do you think it will look like, here? Will it storm, you think? Or shall we all just pass away with the breeze?"

Madara was silent for a long moment. She almost thought he wouldn't answer such an inane question. "Whatever may be," he said at last, "we shall all go together."

-X-X-X-

Sasuke hovered awkwardly just outside the door, though externally the action looked much more composed and generally less concerned for his former teammate's welfare. _If it wasn't for Naruto, I wouldn't be here at all, _he thought darkly. The blonde hadn't been outside the door for more than thirty seconds before Tsunade had thrown him off hospital grounds for distracting her medics with his incessant need for movement and speech while conscious.

It did look like a funeral hall inside. Albeit, the mourners were doing some fairly out things, but it was deathly silent except for the worried, low speech of the medics and the sounds of the monitors. _They're still at it. This is the second rotation of medics. The Hokage couldn't have slept for more than a few hours. _

From the narrow opening where he was watching, he couldn't see his brother, but he knew he was there. As soon as the Hyuuga had left them at the gates, he and his brother had returned to the woods outside the village for a little "heart-to-heart" chat.

Itachi was exactly as frustrating as he remembered. There had always been something distant, different, about his beloved aniki even while he was growing up. It was as if there was a wall between the prodigy and everyone else, including his family.

Even after all this time, that wall was still in place. He could almost sense his brother trying to breech it, but it remained. He still felt as if nothing had been resolved between them. There was too much-hatred, bitterness, time-for it to disappear so quickly. If it could ever disappear. If what Itachi had done could ever be forgotten.

And now, here was Itachi's new "later." "Later, when the captain is well. We'll talk then, Sasuke." He hadn't actually said it. Not aloud. But Sasuke hadn't felt that his brother was really present in their fight.

He'd held back. That was an inescapable fact.

But Itachi had countered even his most serious attack, refusing to be goaded into the kind of life-or-death match he'd come to expect from Naruto. So perhaps it had been a move to spare his pride, rather than ending the match in seconds and rushing to Sakura's side.

Because even Sasuke understood that Sakura's life hung on the balance.

Because he didn't want the anger and the bitterness anymore.

He wasn't blind enough to ignore that this was the best chance he would ever receive to study his brother, to try and understand what kind of terrible loyalty or gruesome ambition drove him. If the answer didn't satisfy, he would consider his next move then.

-X-X-X-

Sakura's first thought was, _I feel terrible. _As she considered whether that was in favor of her being alive or dead, a rude medic intruded, checking her responses, babbling something she couldn't make out.

Her second thought was, _I think I've forgotten Japanese. _It took a good thirty seconds for her to puzzle out that, no, she hadn't forgotten the language, she simply didn't speak it at the speed of sound, consonants and vowels tumbling over each other as the excited woman poked and prodded.

A low, soft voice halted the deluge before she could force the stiff muscles of her face to work. "Thank you, Ishikawa-san. Would you give me a moment alone with my daughter?"

"But Haruno-san, she only just woke up! I need to tell Shizune-sama!"

"Shizune-san informed me that she was stable. At worst, she only goes back to sleep. Now, if you will excuse us."

There was a rustle and Sakura could hear the footsteps of the nurse as she left the room.

Her father's familiar face appeared in her line of vision and she squinted up at him. "You gave everyone quite the scare."

"Sor-ry," she whispered, her voice breaking on the syllables as she realized she was parched. Her father wordlessly helped her to sit up, handing her a plastic cup of water once she'd demonstrated her hands were steady enough to hold it. Sipping it carefully, she winced as it burned. They must have had to assist her breathing. She wasn't surprised.

"You have been asleep for over two weeks," he said at last as he settled back into the chair next to her bed.

Sakura winced. "Sorry," she apologized again.

"It is no matter. However, there are things that will need your attention immediately." Sakura glanced over at him to see his hands easily laced over his lap, his gaze business-like.

"Tell me."

"Your subordinate Sai has been taking care of some sort of ANBU matter that has arisen. I believe there has been an irregularity. I have heard whispers that imply you are now expected to take Shimura Danzou's place. Something about a seal that should have disappeared and didn't."

Sakura frowned. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but it wasn't information that any civilian should have known, even if he was her father.

"There have been loose tongues while I've been sleeping."

He glanced over at her. "In the time you've spent unconscious, this village has been destroyed and rebuilt, another of the Sannin has died, and the possibility of war hovers just on the horizon."

"Tell me everything."

And he did. All the terrible things, things she might have prevented, actions she could have countered, heartache she might have averted, if only she'd been strong enough to strike down the Madara pretender. If she'd hunted the Akatsuki more aggressively. A strong feeling of inadequacy crept in an made its nest in her chest.

Naruto had become a hero. But the need for something like a hero implied a situation so dire it should never have been allowed to develop.

Sakura stared down into her cup, where the last few drop had congregated in the bottom. "I understand," she said at last. "What else can you tell me?"

"I made the acquaintance of your new follower. Uchiha Itachi. He spoke at length about the man you had the encounter with. This 'Uchiha Madara.'"

"He's not Uchiha Madara," Sakura muttered fiercely.

"Even so. There was something I wanted to tell you. About him."

Startled, she glanced at her father. It was no exaggeration to say that Haruno Takehiko knew everyone worth knowing in the world of trade, but the shinobi world was a different sphere of influence entirely.

"I have met that man before." His voice was calm, but his carmine eyes were narrow and angry, their gaze turned inward in memory.

"What?" she spluttered, composure broken. "When?"

"Before you were born. Were you ever curious as to how the situation in the Bloody Mist developed? After all, ever daimyo safeguards the bloodlines of their ninja clans ferociously. The clans are the major military strength of every hidden village, after all, which in turn is safety and profit for the daimyo. Why then a bloodline purge? Surely you must have wondered."

Sakura nodded. "Go on," she urged when her father paused.

"The step of replacing the Kage is obvious in this ploy. That could be done directly. But in order to destabilize the political situation enough to make destroying the clans viable requires an action more insidious."

Sakura stared in rapt attention.

"He, the man who claims to be Madara, took full advantage of his Sharingan legacy. As you might know, the later stages can be used to manipulate the mind-you call it genjutsu, but the Sharingan amplifies it. Makes the damage permanent. They drove the daimyo mad. He, in turn, killed his closest family and advisors, creating a political vacuum. And nature abhors a vacuum. The politicians were too busy scrambling for power and influence to interfere in the purge."

Sakura blinked. The idea itself was ingenious in its simplicity-no need to install a puppet ruler who might develop troublesome ideas of his own or work to conceal the purge as a series of accidents. Very straightforward, adept, but all launched from the shadows, under many names, many faces. Madara by contrast was in his own way very visible. He never left one any doubt who was behind his machinations, yet managed to instill such an element of fear with his reputation that it became a strength rather than a weakness. _It's Madara_-that was the whisper that had preceded the conflict two generations ago and it had left people feeling trapped and helpless as only the Sharingan could manage.

_I can see the future. _Kakashi-sempai had made such a claim once, but Madara had made everyone believe it. The inevitability, the knowledge that they couldn't prevent what would occur destroyed his opponent's confidence. She'd seen the records: the panic, the self-sabotage, the chaos he'd left in his wake.

"How did you escape?" she asked her father. She herself was meticulous when it came to loose ends.

"I didn't." He pressed something into her hand then.

It felt heavy and cool, solid. She uncurled her fingers to reveal an elaborate seal. "What...?"

"The daimyo's seal. The same seal I used on all official documents," he said tonelessly. "Now it's only a useless hunk of stone, but it will serve you as a reminder of what that man is capable of. There will be a war. Please be prepared." And with those final words, her father left the room, leaving Sakura awash with questions with no answer.

-X-X-X-

There was one mercy in having a stricken Hokage sharing the same hospital. The focus was on the unwaking Tsunade, leaving Sakura to her own devices. Bullying her attending doctor into discharging her was easy, even if she had to sign that it was against medical advice.

Sakura had to take little 'breaks' as she made her way through town, but reconstruction was still on-going and it was no matter to avoid the notice of the exhausted citizenry. Her frown firmed into something almost tangible that made her jaw ache as she surveyed the wreckage. _It's been a bad decade for the village. _

She had only intended to travel to the Root compound to investigate how far dismantling Danzou's operation had gone before the attack and because there was no better place to gather information on the attack itself. While the normal shinobi ranks would have their opinions colored by the grief and horror of it, any of the Root members would present her with nothing more than a list of statistics detailing how much damage had been done. How many lives lost.

What she did not expect was for the first member of Root she encountered to bow to her as she had only ever seen them kowtow to Danzou himself. "Welcome back, Haruno-sama. We've been waiting for you."

A/N: And you thought I spoiled the surprise of the Fourth Kingdom? Silly, silly readers. You know I never play anything straight like that. Also, as to the Sasuke-bashing: I don't mean to do it. I really don't. I've tried to be even-handed with everyone from Orochimaru to Danzou, but I just can't get inside Sasuke's head. Which might be why you've been seeing so much of his P.O.V. I get the straight-forward revenge factor, but for me in canon he's almost as much of a cardboard personality as Sakura, just with a step-up in badass.


	33. The Call of the Robin at Dawn

Disclaimer: If I owned this, you would be buying this in a bookstore. And wondering why a manga suddenly became a prose novel.

A/N: Yes, Nagato and his invasion still occurred. Whatever might be occurring in Sakura's life, while overwhelmingly important to Five Kingdoms and the primary focus of this fic, does not mean that Naruto is any less Naruto's story. But if you want to read that, I'll refer you to the manga.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-three-

The Call Of the Robin At Dawn

The view from Danzo's desk was much as she'd suspected it would be, if it had ever crossed Sakura's mind to consider the perspective from behind the imposing hardwood monstrosity, all heavy, stark lines and somehow managing to radiating a feeling of _coldness_, though wood was generally a warm material. The walls were a stark white, easily plastered over if any untoward incidents occurred and lending a sense of sterility to the place where Danzo had spent most of his life once he had retired from active duty.

Orochimaru had created for himself a lair, deep and dank and secure as a villain's in a children's fable, Tsunade with her sake and stacks of paper drenched her home with a sense of cheer and informality, Jiraiya buried himself in a colorful whirlwind of ever changing places and faces, but Danzo?

Danzo erased. Danzo abolished. Danzo emptied out all that was best and personal in humanity so that his people became like tools.

But there was that single piece of calligraphy-_keizoku wa chikara nari_-continuance is also strength. And that was so personal as to make up for the utter lack everywhere else, for what else could Danzo's life be defined by but perseverance?

_Had he written it himself? _It was more artistic than she would have expected, done with a lighter hand, if that was the case, but the painting was unsigned otherwise, the words complimenting the brushwork tree with deep, deep roots that trailed off the page.

Her eyes traced those roots and her fingers unconsciously tapped out a slow tempo against the surface of the desk as she considered the reports that Root agents-_her _Root agents-had been bringing her.

They sounded like something out a legend; something that couldn't possibly be _real_. That all that damage was created by a single ninja who walked in many bodies, each with a godlike aspect. That Naruto had come rushing to the rescue during the climax of the battle, wielding unheard of power. That the dead had arisen, their fallen revived when Naruto defeated not the body but the spirit of their enemy.

While her conscious mind processed these, a part of her was grateful just to be sitting down. It would have been a less than illustrious start to her career as head of Root if she'd fainted not thirty seconds after being welcomed by the shinobi at the door. Flashes of weakness, numbness, stole across her body without warning, a prelude to a tearing sort of pain as muscles clenched, writhing deep inside like they were trying to crawl out. There was nothing to be done about the numbness, but she could at least use what skills she had with medical chakra to stop the muscle spasms. The only thing worse than fainting in front of her subordinates was falling to the floor and _twitching_.

But there was no time to worry about her own condition. Tsunade-shishou did not appear to be in any immediate danger of worsening, at least. The medics had unanimously decided there was nothing wrong with her except chakra exhaustion of the life-endangering sort, the kind that had kept Sakura herself in a coma for weeks in the past. While there was every indication that she would recover, the political vacuum left by her absence and Danzo's demise was dangerous. The potential for internal chaos was already becoming apparent and the more hazardous probability of external attack couldn't be overlooked.

Tsunade-shishou had put herself in a coma for the sake of her shinobi, healing them-_all _of them-in the face of a ninja who might have come close to filling his pretensions as a god, if the reports were accurate. But Sakura couldn't help herself for wishing that the older woman had been just a bit more selfish. After all, her sacrifice had been for naught, the enemy himself responsible for the continued good health of most of their ninja.

And now, her own startling installment as the commander of Root. She'd known when Danzo had done the transfer she was now the lynchpin of the seal that kept that tongues of his agents silenced. It would be a nasty blow against Tsuande when she learned of it, if she hadn't already, and would have likely been inspired by a mix of spite and calculation. It was unlikely, after all, that Tsunade-shishou would have Sakura killed to release the seal. And until Sakura herself or one of the seal masters figured out the mechanics of it, it was impossible for her to voluntarily allow the shinobi to speak of things that Danzo had desired to keep hidden.

_And Jiriaya-sama, the one who had the best chance of all of figuring this out, is dead, _she thought wearily.

As she turned her gaze outward, she couldn't overlook the three Root members currently in the room with her. Two flanked the door to her office, another stood to her left side, three steps behind her, acting as a page.

_There should have been someone more qualified. _In terms of experience, this was absolutely and overwhelmingly true. And she didn't entertain the delusion there weren't huge differences in power even within ANBU-raw chakra strength, battle analysis, jutsu diversity, in all of these she was outclassed, though generally not in all of them by the same individual. Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi were more the exceptions that proved the rule, not the standard by which ANBU should be judged.

_So why? _she demanded of a dead man.

It hadn't been a last minute decision, either. When Root had felt the shockwave of Danzo's death, his elite had already known who they would next turn to for orders.

Sakura only wished Konohagakure shared such foresight. Though there was no indication that the position would become permanent, they hadn't even appointed an interim Hokage.

_But that_, she thought decisively, _is for the moment best left to the elders. _

"Nezumi-kun," she said aloud. Though it was impossible for the man behind her to snap to attention because he'd never displayed any sign of ease, she could almost feel his attention shift to her. "Assign someone to pull all records on Uchiha Madara. Even the sightings that were dismissed as hoaxes. Have another team work on pulling records on the Akatsuki. I want a workable counter-strategy for each of their known jutsu by the end of the week. Contact the spy networks-I also want someone to map out sightings of them for the last three years. See if you can establish a pattern. Not just when and where they completed missions-if a fishwife saw them wandering through town two years ago, I want to know. See if any hotspots appear. And if we know of any major rogue groups in the area. We need to know just who our enemies are so we can ascertain who our allies need to be."

The ninja, who wore a brown-haired wig and displayed even less personality than Sai when he'd first come to her, asked after a long pause, "Will that be all, Haruno-sama?"

Sakura grimaced. "No. Send someone familiar with Root in with the personnel files. I need to look them over. And...," she hesitated, but then decided to make the request regardless, "I want the file on the previous Water Daimyo." She didn't doubt that there was one. In Danzo's place, she would have files filled with all the nasty, useful secrets about the powers that be. "That will be all."

As the ANBU flashed away, Sakura sighed again. Always, always, there was no _time. _In another world, she would still be a child, free and happy and unburdened with gathering the dark ropes that would become the net which would support Naruto's unblemished Konohagakure above. The Konohagakure that she had loved as a child, which had cradled her in its balmy and nearly eternal summers, that had made laughter a part of the ninja academy curriculum, the Konoha that smiled when other shinobi nations frowned.

But for beauty, there must also be ugliness. Just as the trappings of the courts of the daimyo were built upon the labor of the peasants, so too was Konoha's lax attitude in many aspects of shinobi life dependent upon those who took their duty to the other extreme. Danzo's automatons, the death-seekers in ANBU, the jounin who were never permitted to come into contact with genin if at possible.

Sakura did not delude herself into believing that Naruto was unaware of the underbelly of their city. He could hardly have avoided it, growing up the way he did. But he had made, at some point in time, a very deliberate choice. He had turned his face to the sun and decided that his path lay in the brightness of the world, in the bittersweet and heart wrenching fullness of life. His place was the Hokage's Tower, the markets and the houses, the gardens and the parks.

Her home lay beneath the city, in the tunnels and passages, in the secret rooms and locked archives, and in battlefields far from home. And she would do this willingly, for she never wanted the world she had come to know to meet the one she had always loved.

Once, Naruto had been the day, Sasuke the night, and she the indecisive light of morning that didn't exist as a state of its own, but rather was the narrow melding of the two states, the thing that allowed them to exist without consuming one another.

Now Sakura was unsure where they stood in relation to one another. Naruto perhaps was the sky, Sasuke the earth, she the things beneath, but that didn't seem quite right, somehow.

Sakura's frowned at the calligraphy on the wall across from her, then turned her eyes to the two other ANBU in the room, trying to dispel her thoughts of Team Seven. She wished they were familiar to her, but she only knew the design on their masks from the times she'd called on Danzo in this very office. Behind those curves of porcelain, they might be nothing more than faceless ghouls. Hit by a sudden whim, knowing she had to power to do so, she ordered them to remove their masks. There was a slight hesitation, almost unnoticeable, before they complied. Sakura tilted her head to the side and memorized their faces, quizzing them. Names, backgrounds, personal questions they had no replies for because Danzo had left no room for personality in their training.

She checked herself a moment later, knowing that was untrue, that he'd cultivated Sai's natural artistic talents. She simply didn't have the questions yet, the ones that would allow her to begin to understand people who'd been so separated from their own emotions they didn't even know themselves.

She allowed them to put their masks back on after that.

As she waited for Nezumi to return, she drafted different messages to her comrades. Sai. Itachi. Neji. Even Naruto. But none seemed right and they were soon discarded. Notes curious about their whereabouts seemed too plaintive, as if she was silently accusing them for not being by her side when she awoke. A single letter confessing of her appointment to the head of Root seemed like she was pleading for their support. Perhaps even asking for their understanding, considering what Root had done to them in the past. And her letter to Naruto came out strangely, as if she was bitter because he could gather the power to stand against a man who would have been a god, while she had almost died simply being a distraction for a man whose greatest pretension was to be Uchiha Madara, a sort of thirdhand godhood.

As she swept the ashes of yet another failure from her desk, she pulled one last sheet of paper in front of her, and she scribed a note. It was short, her penmanship abominable. She was too tired, emotionally and physically, for anything more. _Sai, I'd like to see you. I'll be in my new office, when you have time. _

She regretted it the instant it left her hands, but she allowed the ninja to leave, trusting that Sai wouldn't overanalyze the note, reading the current of need that flowed beneath the words. 

-X-X-X-

Sai did not read between the lines, short as they were. He read the traces of pain and exhaustion in the lines of Sakura's penmanship. Writing was distinctive-it might flow like the Hyuuga's writing, or have the fierce correctness but absence of soul that characterized the Uchiha's small characters. Sakura's writing was bold and quick, perhaps a remnant of the time when Sakura had said that she was a ninja best on paper, her strokes full of confidence and expressive. Pretentious as well-she like to include intentionally difficult characters, even when a simpler and more common one would do.

This writing was a wasted remnant-he could see the spreading of the ink where her hand had hesitated, her strokes were abbreviated, and sometimes the lines trembled. And there was a shocking absence of words-Sakura was nitpicky and verbose in her written instructions, as if she forgot to lock down on the bossy impulse she usually only displayed around Naruto.

He realized he was frowning only when the Hyuuga asked, "Is something wrong, Sai?"

The dark-haired ninja glanced over at Neji, whose back was to him, his shoulder blades outlined by wings of sweat, the normally tolerable sunlight unforgiving in a district still completely flattened. Shade was a scarce commodity and Sai himself was beginning to pink along the length of his nose and his forearms. The two of them had been working in tandem to retrieve valuables from the rubble, Neji and his Byakugan directing Sai's painted rats as they burrowed and tugged, usually emerging triumphant with a treasured photo or a piece of heirloom jewelry.

_She must be using Danzo's chakra infused paper, _Sai realized, for the Hyuuga to be unable to read the words himself.

He pondered for a moment on how to answer the other shinobi's question. If he told him frankly it was a message from Sakura, the other man would no doubt demand to see it. Sai would then either have to choose whether or not he would then take Neji to Sakura. If he did not, the other shinobi would doubtless hold it against it, for friends did not conceal things from friends, but if he did, Neji would require long explanations as to how Sakura would have use of Danzo's office and why she was out of bed to begin with. He and Sakura generally required a lot of words; words, judging by the state of her writing, that Sakura might not be in any state to exchange.

Sakura was vain. She disliked displaying weakness to those she cared about more than she did when in front of strangers. And while Sakura might bandy about words like friends and comrades, though not with the same dangerous ease as dickless, Sai was certain that he and Sakura weren't as close as she and the Hyuuga.

Neji had been with her longer, after all, and the nature of the missions they'd taken in the past together were much lighter in nature than the ones Sai had accompanied her on. Their bonds were stronger, but in this case, Sai thought he might have the advantage. After all, he had helped her when she'd lain bleeding on the floor, after Danzo had punished her for bringing back Sasuke alive.

If he helped her a second time, it shouldn't matter.

Neji's unhealthy vigils and uncertain relationship to basic functions like eating shouldn't be overlooked, either. Sai was certain that the others ninja's dark circles and gauntness wouldn't inspire health in anyone else.

Mind made up, he answered, "Root business."

Neji turned to him, frowning. "Is it urgent? And shouldn't Root be dissolved after Danzo died?"

Sai shrugged carelessly. "Saplings sprout from dead stumps all the time."

That made Neji frown, faint creases replacing the bulging veins of his bloodline. He glanced back at the rubble where they'd been worked, then he sighed. "It's not as if the work will go anywhere."

Sai nodded, gathering his tools, then he set off at a casual pace toward Danzo's office, quickening his steps only when he was certain the Hyuuga wasn't going to follow.

Once inside the Root compound, he was waved through, but he felt his seal tingle as he passed through each of the doors. _It's become a fortress, _he thought. _No one enters or leaves without the seal for now. _

And, like every great fortress, there was a general, except this general had only recently woken from a life-or-death battle. And come off poorly in the process.

Some scars are more noticeable than others. The one that bisects Kakashi's eye in a vertical line and the six whisker-like markings on Naruto's face were such scars, but the scar that ran across the bridge of Sakura's nose, from left cheekbone to up into her hairline, making her bangs lay strangely, wasn't something that could be easily covered or overlooked. It was still faintly pink and raw-looking, though it lay smooth and unmounded, sleek like a burn, wider than a scar from a blade.

It made her look older and harder, offsetting the misleading color of her hair and the still childish shape of her face. Just like the tired eyes that focused on him, the pleasure at seeing him drowned by a stormy sea of other burdens. Responsibilities. Sakura didn't even need to say anything-he could already see she'd been at work, probably from the instant she'd been able to crawl out of her hospital bed.

"Hey, Sai," she said softly, her mouth curling up into a smile.

"You look awful, ugly," he told her bluntly, but she only laughed. But quietly, like it hurt something inside her. Sai tilted his head in consideration. Kakashi had once tried to explain charisma to him, the ability to convince people to do things they did not want to do, but he had observed it could only be achieved in a limited number of ways. Route one involved clever words, route two involved overwhelming sincerity. Sai had neither of these things.

"You have no remaining internal injuries?" he asked. Bemused, Sakura shook her head.

So he strode across the room, and in once movement slid her chair back, his hands sliding behind her back and beneath her knees, lifting her easily into his arms. From what he remembered, it would seem that the Hyuuga wasn't the only one who had lost weight during the Madara ordeal.

Sakura spluttered, a wonderful deviation from her normal composure. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Helping my friend make good life decisions," he answered placidly. Sakura slapped his shoulder in an obvious demand to be set down, but he only jostled her, settling her more comfortably in his grip. "If you die in battle with someone like Uchiha Madara, that's one matter. If you die of complications brought on by stubbornness, that's just embarrassing."

Sakura glowered at him, but he gave her only a dead stare in return. "We'll go to my apartment," he told her. "You've been naked there before-you can't possibly feel uncomfortable."

An expression of shock chased across her features, then she slumped in defeat. "I want to hurt you," she said in a small voice.

Sai hummed thoughtfully as he brushed through the doors, an awkward maneuver while carrying the pink-haired girl. "Your forceful personality does make it likely you might obtain gratification from punishing others," he replied after consideration. "The books say this is common in people who feel an obsessive need to be in control in all aspects of their lives. I will let you hit me as a reward for good behavior, once you are healed," he concluded.

Sakura groaned. "Sai, please don't say these kinds of things were people can _hear_."

Sai made a show of glancing at the next silent ANBU they passed. "You have a seal that guarantees their silence. No matter your kinky sexual preferences, hag."

"I really hope this is banter to make me feel better," Sakura grumbled, squirming a little in his hold, "because otherwise I'm going to murder you later."

Sai blinked, glancing down at her as he easily leaped from rooftop to rooftop, making their way to his dim apartment in moments. He swept through the living area to his small bedroom, where a futon lay already spread on the floor, made a kind of nest by turrets of paper and canvases stacked neatly around it, within easy reach.

Sakura smiled despite herself at the sight, even as it turned to a put upon expression as Sai made an exaggerated show of tucking her into bed, her back pressed against the wall. And then for good measure, he sat cross-legged upon the edge of the comforter, pulling a thick sheet of paper from one stack and a pen from one of the many cups of them that dotted the room.

"Sai," Sakura said, "I have things I _need _to do. Just because this time Naruto was here doesn't mean he'll always be there to save us. And with that pretender-"

Sai cut her off. "Dickless will be there. He's the hero. It's what he _does._ You aren't a secret jinchuriki?"

"What's that have to do with anything?" Exasperation touched her voice.

"You can drop dickless down a well in a sack and he'll show up with a magic frog three days later. You would just drown," Sai told her repressively. "Don't try to be Naruto. You're only human."

Sakura's fingers clenched, twisting the cover.

"Heal. If not for your own sake, then for dickless and your idiot lover and red-eyes, who all need you. If you die, your idiot lover will probably waste away. There won't be anyone to protect red-eyes from the Council and by extension, there won't be anyone to protect little pink-eye from them either. And what do you think dickless will do?"

"Something stupid," Sakura answered grudgingly.

Sai nodded. "You're being selfish."

"I want to prevent another attack," Sakura snapped, "How in the hell is that being selfish?"

"Because of the way you're going about it. You're running ahead, not thinking of the consequences. Leaving everyone behind," he said with emphasis.

"But...," Sakura started to protest, but Sai shushed her.

"Once you're feeling well enough to beat that message home, you can leave. Until then, take a nap."

Sakura sulked, but she snuggled deeper into the covers, which was probably an indication of how close to collapse she had been. When she had settled, Sai leaned forward, brushing his fingers across her forehead. "You have a fever," he said in a soft accusation. "You're probably going to relapse."

Her eyes were green slits. "I don't want to go back to the hospital."

Sai gave her a bland look. "Then you won't mind if I ask your idiot lover and red-eyes over to help, because I'm not your personal nurse, hag."

There was a beat of silence, then, "Please."

"Please yes or please no?"

"Yes. I...I didn't know what to write to them," she said in a sigh. "It all sounded so...needy."

Two robin peeled themselves from the page he'd been working on, perching on the curve of Sakura's hip as they waited to be entrusted with the short messages he scribed to their teammates. "You taught me it was alright to need other people," he scolded in monotone. "Follow your own advice."

"But-"

"You're not some sort of lone pillar of strength for Konohagakure. Accept the fact that you're not a hero, you're a mastermind. You're _not _Naruto. But if you keep thinking like him, you will die. And you will leave the rest of us with only each other for company."

Her lips quirked upward. "Sai, you're so comforting."

-X-X-X-

Sakura had discharged herself against medical advice. It was behavior typical of ninja who had more machismo than brains, such as Naruto, or with a horror of the death that lingered in the halls that stunk of bleach, such as Kakashi.

"You should have known better, Sakura-taichou," Itachi said softly to her as he handed her a glass of water and a couple ibuprofen to control the fever that was a sign of both exhaustion and infection. Neji's hands tightened on her shoulders and Sakura winced, even as she made no move to escape the ninja who'd helped her to sit up.

They were all sitting or kneeling on the floor of the bedroom of Sai's apartment, his stacks of paper now neatly aligned against the walls so they might have room.

"Sorry," she apologized. "But you don't understand all the circumstances."

Itachi made certain his aspect projected patience and long-suffering. "We won't know if you don't tell us, captain."

She wavered visibly. Then, "I'm not ready to tell you everything. But..." She took a deep breath, visibly steeling herself, her hands coming up to sweep off Neji's, moving so that her back was to the wall. So that she might face all of them. Her hands clasped the glass in her lap so tightly he thought it was in danger of shattering.

"You know that I was part of Root." This comment was directed mainly toward the Hyuuga, who nodded. "But I don't know if you know...I mean...," Sakura, who was usually so cogent, fumbled for words. Then she rallied herself again, her gaze steady as she caught each of their eyes in turn. "As of today, I assumed control of ANBU Root," she told them. "I am Shimura Danzo's successor."

The Hyuuga's eyes widened. "But why...? You _despised _Root."

"No. I didn't. I hated the things it made me do, hated what Danzo had done to people, but Root itself provides a necessary function."

Neji made as if to say something, but Itachi cut him off. "She is correct," he acknowledged. "The actions of the Hokage must be without blame; someone is needed as a scapegoat if the missions are uncovered."

"Are the missions really that necessary?" the brown-haired ninja pressed, leaning forward earnestly with his brow furrowed.

"Konoha could probably survive without them," Sakura admitted. "In an economic sense. Though the missions themselves carry such risk that if they come from an outside contractor they are very, very well paid. Which is in part why Root had so much sway, even though as a faction its only about a third of the size of ANBU proper. But in a political sense, Root is a kind of bogeyman that Konoha needs. You know other villages think we're soft. Which, compared to places like Iwa and Mizu, is something we should all be grateful for. We have a different kind of strength. But not every village is going to respect that."

"So we must show them a kind of strength they will respect," Itachi finished for her. "It is stooping to their level."

She favored him with a tired, wan smile. "That's it. But we can't change the way entire hidden villages think. So we have to be prepared to fight fire with fire."

"Do you really believe that?" Neji asked.

"I don't want to believe it. I want to believe that we can change it. And some of the things Danzo did _were_ unnecessary. But in the end, we don't have some sort of hard and firm code of morals that will make the other villages adhere to our standards. And maybe we shouldn't. It's their ninja culture; what right do we have to interfere with that, even if we think it's wrong? I want to protect Konohagakure. And, perhaps, the place I can do that best is in Root."

Itachi regarded her thoughtfully. "What you say has merit, though I'm certain Naruto would disagree with you. Do you intend to retire from the field entirely?"

Sakura shook her head. "Absolutely not. I'd prefer to go as long as possible with no one outside this room aware of it, with the exception of Tsunade-shishou."

"Not even dickless?" Sai asked.

"Especially not Naruto. He might get some sort of funny idea that I need saving or something," she said, her smile fond and reflective. Then she was serious again. "The three of you can stay in my ANBU squad, if you want to. I promise not to involve you in Root affairs. But I'll understand if you want to leave."

Itachi blinked. "I believe, at least for my part, you are misunderstanding something, Sakura. I told you when I agreed to return with you my loyalty was no longer to this village and that it was contingent upon Sasuke's safe return and continued safety here. You have fulfilled the latter half of that agreement: you made it possible despite an enemy even I wished to avoid. Though I am curious as to what made you think he was not Uchiha Madara. But the former clause is still in effect. My loyalty is to you. And you have done nothing to disabuse me of that fact or make it seem like foolishness. Whatever the future holds for you, I will be present at your side. Because you love both Konohagakure and my little brother."

Sakura looked as if she was about to protest, to say she no longer loved Sasuke, but he hadn't meant it in an erotic sense or even in a platonic sense. His little brother had done much to hurt the girl in front of him and her heart wasn't as large or as forgiving as Naruto's, but her attachment to him ran deep. Even if she hated him, she would save him. For Naruto's sake, for Itachi's sake, and perhaps for her own sake as well, retrieving Sasuke having been a defining mission in her life for a very long time. But before he could reassure her of his understanding, the Hyuuga spoke.

"No. I won't let you do this by yourself," he told her quietly, furiously. "Why would you want to abandon me? Us," he corrected himself swiftly, but he and Sakura were the only ones in the room who weren't aware that his loyalty was very personal. "If its somewhere so dark you can't even take your comrades, why would you think you even have to walk there?"

"Because I can't think of any other way," Sakura told him, her words clipped. Then her expression softened. "I don't want to take you there because you're the best part of me," she confessed. "All of you are."

"If we're the best parts of you, Sakura, then you'd be a fool to leave us behind. Because if you do, I can already divine your future. You aren't going to be Sakura any longer. You'll be a weapon that walks around in Sakura's body."

"Neji..."

"I'm not like Itachi and Sai," Neji said. "I knew you from before. I know what you sacrificed to gain strength. But if you don't learn how to stop, you're not going to replace Shimura Danzo, you're going to become him. You'll be bitter and twisted and hard and unapologetic about being all of those things. So I won't let you go by yourself. While you protect Konoha, I'll protect _you_. Even from yourself." And his expression was firm, but there was an openness to it that displayed in full regalia his loyalty, his friendship, and his love.

Sai, of course, was the one to disturb the moment. "Technically, hag, when you inherited the office, I automatically became your subordinate in Root."

Sakura looked startled for a moment and then she laughed.

A/N: Since we've already broken the barrier of one thousand reviews, I hope that Five Kingdoms can eventually reach two thousand reviews. Dream big, right? Because, honestly, I love hearing from you. Both good and bad. (In the sense of constructive criticism, flames really just make me want to break down your argument point by point and that certainly doesn't make any new chapters happen.) But I want to take this opportunity to thank all the readers who've stuck with me thus far: I hope you're still enjoying the story!


	34. The Persistence of Memory

Disclaimer: In the original, certain events occurred that will never be repeated here. It is, therefore, fanfiction.

A/N: For every good thing, there are ten regrets.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-four-

The Persistence of Memory

"Your bond with Naruto is based on nothing more than the memory of a friendship that never existed in reality." For such a pretty mouth, Sasuke said such poisonous words. As if there was no better use for his eyes than to see weakness, to explore the boundaries of what pain could be inflicted without ever touching the other person. At the moment, he was destroying her most cherished ideals with all the casual cruelty that he had been capable of during their shared childhood.

"He talks about you-but it isn't just for me than he keeps harping on about Team Seven's glory days. You aren't around much, are you? If Naruto wasn't such an idiot, he wouldn't even bother calling you a friend."

"I am Naruto's friend," Sakura protested through clenched teeth.

"What part of you? Don't be annoying, Sakura. You're smarter than that. Judging by your standards, I would merit just as much of Naruto's friendship as you," he snorted, relaying his thoughts without words on that possibility.

"Friendship isn't a merit system!" she snapped. "And I wasn't the one who betrayed the village and tried his damnedest to prove he hadn't been anyone's friend by killing them!"

"Oh? So it's fine to say goodbye for years and then only speak when on missions together? What do you even really know about Naruto? If it's anything like what he knows about you, you might as well be satisfied reading each other's Bingo book entries." He did not point out that _not _betraying one's village and not trying to kill one's friends weren't really points in her favor; it was a measure of how skewed their relationship was that these were even taken into consideration.

Sakura blinked. "Why are we even having this discussion?" she asked with exasperation. She had finally escaped, with permission and a stern curfew, from the watchful eyes of her squad, only to encounter Sasuke before she ever reached the Root compound and the waiting reports that Sai had refused to fetch. For two days, she'd done little more than doze, sit through Itachi's entire repertoire of homeopathic compounds learned from his mother, Neji's sudden culinary inspiration, and the unflattering commentary provided by Sai, who didn't even own a radio or television to provide the illusion of escape.

She had just about reached her limit for criticism, fair or not, before she'd left the door of the apartment.

Sakura had been startled to see Sasuke walking the streets of Konohagakure as if he hadn't been a traitor and a wanted missing-nin only a short while ago, but she had been about to ignore it, for the distinctive patterns of a chakra-sealing array were visible across the backs of both of his hands, trailing down his fingers. Training told her there would be three other arrays, all disguised by his clothing-at the nape of his neck, over his heart, and below that one positioned over the "sea of chakra" that was the stomach.

But when Sasuke had noticed her, instead of pretending he was existed on some plane that her presence didn't sully, he had stepped right into her path. His eyes had flicked to her face, with a kind of brusqueness that was a relief after the invasive stares of passerby. She supposed she should feel guilty that a small part of her had been relieved that Konoha had recently faced such calamity so that the good-hearted but nosy citizen and shinobi populations were more distracted by their own woes than her scars, but she hadn't felt so self-conscious about her body in years.

Other scars she'd worn with pride-the fading marks of her long-ago battle with Gaara, the smaller scars of other battles, all evidence of missions executed with success if not without injury. She wasn't perfect, after all. But this one was different, somehow. It rankled.

"Sakura." His greeting was as cool as ever, but Sasuke wouldn't stir himself simply to say hello.

"Sasuke," she had replied cautiously.

"Not being followed by your drones today?"

"I left the rest of the hive at home," she said drolly. "Who's holding your leash today?"

"Funny, Sakura," he said in a tone that made it clear it wasn't.

Sakura sighed. "Can I help you, Sasuke? You didn't stop me just for some clever repartee."

His tilted his head slightly to the side, the spikes that crowned his head being ruffled gently by the breeze. "Visit Naruto." It was a command, not a request.

Sakura was dumbfounded for a moment. "Was he hurt in the attack?" Because she hadn't heard any such thing.

Sasuke snorted. "And that would be the only reason to visit him, wouldn't it? So much for friends."

"Don't talk about things you nothing about, Sasuke," Sakura had told him, which had started the whole thing.

And now, in the present, Sakura found herself wondering if Sasuke's time with the Madara pretender had driven him to madness. _I mean, I know I'm crazy, but _Sasuke _is giving me the friendship speech. This is bizarre. _Sakura frowned steadily at Sasuke, who still hadn't answered her demand for the reason he'd accosted her.

Sasuke regarded her gravely. "Naruto won't shut the fuck up about Team Seven. It was starting to give me a headache. So I'm making it your problem, instead." And then he turned, as if he intended to just walk away after delivering his little diatribe. Sakura's hand came down heavy on one of his shoulders.

"Sasuke, you don't get to just say stuff like that and march away," Sakura growled.

His gaze flicked down to her hand with disdain and he shrugged it off. "You never did handle the truth well, Sakura. Annoying."

"Hey!" Sakura barked, "That's unfair, Sasuke. I was young, Sasuke. And infatuated. What's your excuse?"

"I was also young. But certain recent events have made me reevaluate some things. We've all changed. But I don't think your change was for the better. It was different last time you brought me back. You and Kakashi made sure I was kept in isolation. But this time, I've watched and listened. There are nasty rumors about you, Sakura. That go way back, almost to when I first left the village."

Sakura stiffened minutely, but was careful not to change the pressure of her hand on Sasuke's shoulder. _Orochimaru._

They were garnering stares here, so Sakura released her hold on his shoulder, grabbing his forearm instead, leading him expertly through the crowds, much as she would have done with Naruto but would never have dared to have done with the old Sasuke.

He did not struggle or protest, which might have had more to do with the fact that if he resisted Sakura could order him to follow her rather than any true desire to have the conversation.

_Just around the corner..._ Sakura smiled in faint triumph, capturing some of her old spirit, the one that she'd possessed when they were still fresh genin, chasing Kakashi around the village in a vain attempt to discover what was behind his mask. It had been a hot day and when they'd split up, two of them had sat here, sipping cold drinks while they waited for the other to return.

The stall that had sold the drinks was closed now, the owner probably volunteering with one of the crews. But the simple bench was still there.

Plopping herself down on the surface worn smooth through use, she stared up at Sasuke until he heaved a put-upon sigh and sat beside her. "Do you manhandle my brother as well?" he grumbled.

Sakura would have made a mocking retort, except she was suddenly struck by his comment. After years of absence from Team Seven, she hadn't noticed the lack of casual touch between members of her squad. They interacted in battle and Sai was so utterly clueless in regards to social norms that he created awkward situations on a semi-regular basis, but Neji and Itachi? She had to search for memories of reassuring touches shared with Neji and she couldn't ever remember touching Itachi outside of a battle. She'd attributed the distance to growing up-she wasn't a child anymore, after all-but she realized there was a subtle difference between how she treated her current team and how she'd interacted with Team Seven.

When Team Seven had been dissolved, she'd been riddled with Orochimaru, his thoughts and actions leaking into hers. He'd been like a poison and parts of her had been afraid he could spread by touch, as ridiculous as that sounded, as if her hands could pass on the ugliness he represented. And there hadn't been anyone she wanted to touch, anyhow. Because that was when she'd begged Tsunade-shishou to take her on as an apprentice and been introduced to Danzo.

As the blood on her hands grew thicker, she'd tamed her impulse to react with her body, retreating to the safe distance of words. The level of physical contact with her partner grew sparser, eventually becoming something that happened almost exclusively on missions, where she wasn't really _Sakura _at all.

By the era of Itachi, when the habit of not-touching was so ingrained that even Madara's purifying presence hadn't changed her habits, the only one "safe" to touch was Naruto. And she'd been avoiding him.

"If you're just going sit there and stare, I'm leaving," Sasuke threatened, yanking her from her reflection.

Sakura met his dark gaze evenly, searching out hints of what had happened on their last battlefield, wishing she could divine what his response would be to the locked memories he now harbored. How long she had before he remembered the face she'd worn in his mind.

_After the war_, she prayed. _After that, I become more disposable._ She'd never have to worry about learning to live with the scar as a permanent reminder of the imposter, of his wretched near-invincibility.

A corner of her lips quirked upward. "Which rumors have you heard? Is that why you asked me if I manhandle your brother?"

Sasuke snorted. "Anyone who would believe that rumor haven't met Itachi."

"So, if it's not that rumor, which one bothered you?"

He considered for a moment, which sent a frisson of unease through Sakura. Since Tsunade-shishou had taken her on as an apprentice, rumor had followed her, but her startling rise through the ranks after being marked out for mediocrity, compounded by Itachi's situation, meant the air of Konoha was constantly saturated with rumors about her.

It was the same for any of the high-ranking ninja who also had some degree of public exposure. Someone had once written a series of children's tales based on the fantastical adventures of the Sannin, Kakashi was accredited with superhuman feats of jutsu on a regular basis, and there was a gag-worthy novel of love and family reconciliation based loosely around Asuma's life. In a world where most of their missions were confidential, the people made up tales in the absence of fact.

Sakura just hadn't known she had so many disturbing rumors attached to her name Sasuke would have to pause to sift through them.

"There is a rumor that you must have some leverage on the Hokage beyond being her apprentice to allow you to not only bring back an S-rank missing-nin, but also to make him your direct subordinate."

"Blackmail?" Sakura asked quizzically. "But Tsunade-shishou's one of those people that are impossible to blackmail. Everyone _already knows_ about her drinking, her gambling habits, and just about every other sordid detail of her life while she away from the village_ and _while she was in it. There's enough rumor and innuendo out there to write an entire drama. And a spinoff or two."

Sasuke shrugged. "It is unprecedented," he remarked.

Sakura stared at him. "The village is what, four generations old? Maybe five? Innovation is the only way to survive."

"You don't have to pitch it to me," he retorted sourly.

"Sorry, habit," she apologized briefly. Her gaze traveled to her booted feet and stayed there. "Itachi's position in the village is secure. Much of the arrangement with the Council and the Hokage is confidential, but you have my word that Itachi has been granted a full reinstatement."

"So, they absolved him of all his crimes?" There was a hint of the old darkness back in his voice.

"Absolution is something that can only happen if you forgive yourself," Sakura told him softly. "Itachi...has been punishing himself for a long time. I don't know if they told you, but he probably would have only lived for a few more years at most. He had a degenerative disease and he wasn't seeking medical treatment. The only thing he was seeking was your hatred; he wanted you to kill him."

Sasuke made that irritating 'hn' sound deep in his throat that could mean nothing or everything. "You shouldn't have told me that," he said eventually.

"Why?"

"Because it wasn't your secret to tell."

Sakura snorted with ungainly laughter. "This time, I'm not forcing anything on you. Before-the first time I brought you back-it was the equivalent of forcing my feelings onto you. I wanted you to fit into my neat and tidy picture of the perfect Konoha, even if I had to take away everything that was you to do it. This time, I want you to be free to make your own decisions, even if I think they're the wrong ones. But I want you to know as much of the truth as I can give you."

He turned her own question on her. "Why?"

"Call it building good karma," she said, mingled mischief and wistfulness filling her voice. "I have a feeling I might need it later."

"More secrets?"

"You have yours, I have mine. I even suspect Naruto might have a few."

She glanced up from her boots to find Sasuke watching her with narrowed eyes. "How is it? Being back in the village?"

He shrugged.

"Right. Conversation killer. And I can't ask how your relationship with your brother is coming along, I suppose?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "The brotherly bonding is going smoothly, in between invasions and your entire team acting like your being unconscious throws off the balance of the universe."

"Don't be jealous," she teased. "I'm sure Itachi-nii loves you too."

Sasuke snorted. Then, "For my contributions during the invasion, the Council is considering shortening my sentence."

A pink brow rose. "Your chakra was sealed. And I had your sword."

"I had Orochimaru's. And lack of chakra only limited my repertoire. I am more than proficient with kenjutsu." A pause. "One day, you will return my sword to me."

Rifling through her memory, Sakura wondered what had become of the chokuto. Had her father taken it home? She hadn't returned since leaving the hospital for the Root compound, so it was possible.

Sasuke must have read something from her expression, because he scowled. "You didn't lose it?" he accused.

"Neji probably brought it," she defended quickly. "And they probably sent it home with my other belongings.

"Annoying," he grunted.

The familiarity of it made Sakura laugh, but then she stood, running a hand through her hair. It was loose for once and seemed too long, especially sitting here in Sasuke's company. "I had an errand to run. It was...nice, talking like this again. Without the threats."

Sasuke glanced at her. "You're running away," he accused.

Sakura blinked. "No. I'm not."

"You were getting too comfortable. So you're going to leave." He frowned faintly. "The real question is why? Guilt? Fear?"

"Sasuke, you will stop your psychoanalysis right this minute. You're _wrong._"

"No. I'm not." He said it with the irritating and perfect certainty that had been a hallmark of their past.

"Yes, you are. I'm leaving because I was on business when you stopped me." A faint flush of Madara stole over her, a sensation she could feel to her very feet, like the stinging warmth of her feet going to sleep from sitting seiza too long. "If this was to get back in my good graces, so that I'd use whatever influence I have-which isn't much, with Tsunade in a coma-," a blatant lie, if she ever told one, because as commander of Root she had much more influence over the Council without the moral compass of the Kage, "to get them to shorten your punishment, you might have just asked."

A look that might have been surprised flashed across his features before they darkened. "I wasn't going to ask," Sasuke said coldly. "This is what I meant, Sakura. Of all of us on Team Seven, Kakashi taught you the least, but you took it to heart the most. If you spend so much time looking underneath the underneath, you'll miss what's right in front of your face."

Sakura raised a sardonic pink brow. "So you really want me to believe, what, that _you_-of all people-are reaching out to me to what, reestablish the friendship you just straight out told me was nothing more than a figment of our imagination?"

"You're going to make this very difficult." His voice was flat.

"Because you hurt me a great deal, once upon a time, Sasuke. And then proceeded to be exceedingly consistent about how little Naruto, this village, and I meant to you. If I welcomed you back with open arms, you would call me a trusting idiot," she pointed out. "I won't go so far as to make you grovel, though that might help, but in light of the friendship that never existed between us, I'll offer you some advice."

He raised a brow of his own in challenge.

"Make yourself useful as a weapon. Then I'll begin to trust you as a friend. But keep in mind, weapons that cut the hand that wield them? They're discarded. Konohagakure has no use for them."

"And if Konohagakure has no use for me, then neither do you?" he inquired in a low voice.

Sakura's mouth quirked up in a sad smile. "That's it. I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"Why apologize?"

"Because I don't want to be like this either."

"Then why not change?"

"Why didn't you?" she asked, then she turned and leaped to the rooftops, her feet finding their way on an unfamiliar path while she quickly wiped away the moisture that gathered at the corner of her eyes. _It was a chance, _she thought. But a greater part of her had whispered _trap_ and she'd gone too long paying attention to that voice to not be ruled by it.

_And if I was in the wrong, it's already too late to change what was said, _she rationalized, tucking away all the flimsy little girl feelings, firming her resolution as she glanced at the judgmental faces of the stone Hokage, visible from almost every corner of the village.

By the time she slipped from the warmth of the day into the subterranean coolness of the compound, Sakura no longer felt uncomfortable in her own skin. She accepted the files wordlessly from Nezumi, but perhaps a little still lingered, because she flipped to the report on the man her father had claimed to be first.

Paper clipped in the top right was a series of photos. The first was a shot that had the young daimyo facing the camera, wearing full regalia. For a moment, it was hard to breathe. Because, though he must have been twenty years younger, it was without a doubt her father. The color of his hair was different, as was the color of his eyes, but the bone structure was close enough that the man in the photograph had to be at the very least a close relative.

She lingered a few moments over the photo, then flipped to the next one. Which couldn't have been more different in subject or tone. She shuffled through the rest of the pile, but found all the others were alike-scenes of confused carnage, silks soaked crimson and deep brown with drying blood.

Jaw set, she turned to the report. Skimming through the early years of her father's life, she winced as she came to the mention of first a marriage, then the birth of a son. She found it impossible to imagine her father living the life described in the pages, but perhaps his lives weren't so different. As the daimyo and as the head of the Haruno family, he possessed wealth, prestige, and influence. She flicked back through the photos, but there were no pictures of his wife and child, which Sakura thought was peculiar, but it could be that Danzo had such a wealth of information on them he'd kept separate files.

But it helped. Not to have faces to attach to the names. Because only a few paragraphs on, with no history of mental disturbance, Ryuunosuke (that had been his name, once, and it had lied, the ryuu written with the character that meant prosperity, when it would have been truer to write it with the character that would have transformed it's meaning to herald of the dragon) had slaughtered his entire household-retainers, wife and child, servants, unfortunate guests and passerby-in a weeklong reign of madness that had seemed to catch hold of the entire court. Everyone covered in fear, but no one ran. And no one who entered ever left.

_The imposter. The one with the Sharingan eyes. So this is what father meant. He must have used some technique to destabilize the daimyo's mind. Perhaps a genjutsu that induced paranoia or pasted the faces of enemies upon anyone he saw. But surely he must have had ninja? Not that it would matter. Not against that monster. _

_ He must have trapped them as well. So that's at least three major genjutsu used simultaneously. Because he also had to prevent anyone on the outside from coming in force to rescue the people inside the court. Unless-no, that must have been-yes, that would be it. It might have occurred during that nastiness in Mizu. Not that there's ever much pleasant that goes on in that village, but fairly soon after this is when the Seven Swordsmen began defecting and the Mizukage was assassinated. Which opened the way for the bloodline purges. _

_ This arranged massacre-it wasn't a singular event. It was just the first in a chain of events, meant to set the stage for this. But look at how many people had to die for this "world peace" already. These were civilians. The only war they knew involved nasty rumors and political factions. They weren't prepared for an attack like this. _

Sakura frowned even more deeply than she had been. _The daimyo and later the Uchiha clan. Both utilize an internal force to spread confusion and fear and to severely weaken the target. But there is a significant stretch of time between them. And the man who pretends to be Madara wouldn't simply have been dormant all that time. What was he doing? Why and where was he doing it? We need to know. Because if we can establish a pattern, a chain of evidence, that links a single man to these disturbances in other villages, we can use that as leverage to force them to render aid to us. _

Madara had been silent-not weak, never weak-since he had pulled her back up from the Fourth Kingdom, but now he spoke at last, like the ominous rumble of thunder on a clear horizon. _Even if you convince them of the pretender's interference, things will not proceed easily. He has patterned himself after Uchiha Madara and he is most likely an Uchiha himself, so they may blame their misfortune upon the village that produced him, Konoha. And we are too weak to both defeat his plan and the other villages. _

_ Should you conquer that obstacle, another lies in our path. If they can be convinced to help, they will all wish to do so in their own way, in their own time, on their own terms. They are like little children, squabbling over the tiniest things, unable to put away their past hurts. Working together will not come easily or naturally to any of them. You will make history if you can force them into a council, but you will become a legend indeed if you can make them agree on who will head it. _

Sakura snorted, aware but not caring that she did so aloud. This was the one place in the village where she could commit all sorts of insane actions and never had a word spoken about any of them. _And this is all under the possibly blatantly wrong assumption that we-or rather, I-can manipulate, coerce, or otherwise ask the interim Hokage and Tsunade-shishou when she wakes up to cooperate with us. I'm really looking forward to explaining that the man we'll be fighting against is Uchiha Madara, but not, because he really doesn't resemble the one prancing around in a field of flowers in my head. By the time the psych evaluation is finished, the war will have already started. _

_ The war started long ago. And I do not prance, _he added repressively.

Sakura snickered, this time silently. And then she devoted her full attention to the file, rereading it, this time not allowing the knowledge that this man was her father to disturb her. She memorized what might have seemed like extraneous details, hoping to see them repeated in other incidents. Even ninja like Kakashi and Itachi, who had a whole arsenal of jutsu, fell into the trap of using their favorites in battle.

This was the same principle. If he had found a method effective before, the pretender was more likely to use it again. Before her stretched many, many long hours of analyzing reports of incidents across the continent. But the journey of a thousand miles began with a single step.

So she read the file on her father, then turned to the preliminary reports on the Akatsuki. Endless lists of sightings greeting her and files overflowing with what had to be half rumor. "We need the files from their home villages," she murmured.

"Would you like to commission a squad to retrieve them?" Nezumi asked.

Sakura considered the idea briefly, then shook her head. "We will need their goodwill in the future. And we'll hardly win it by sending in ANBU squads to steal protected files." She held a sheaf of papers. "Have someone work through this list. I want this plotted out on a series of maps. Do it month by month. Different colored dots for each member. Is this all the reports?"

"We haven't had time to retrieve them all," Nezumi reported. "Some of them are held in the regular ANBU archives."

"I'll write out an authorization for their retrieval. I still am technically an ANBU captain, yes?" she inquired.

"We have heard no word of your demotion."

"Good."

"Will you require anything else, Haruno-sama?"

Sakura leaned thoughtfully on her interlocked fingers. "A list. Of every Uchiha born in the last hundred years. That will be possible?"

Nezumi hesitated for a moment, as if truly considering the feasibility, then replied, "Yes."

"And then I'll want the coroner reports or hunter-nin reports of every single one of their deaths."

"You are trying to find someone?" Nezumi ventured.

"Yes. Someone that shouldn't be alive but is." She doubted they would have actually recorded rumors of illegitimate children. Perhaps that was something best asked of Itachi. Uchiha bodies were typically cremated after death, so asking to disinter the bodies would be a fruitless exercise. Charred carbon looked much the same whether one had once been a ninja or not.

"I will bring them to you as soon as they can be located," Nezumi promised.

"Thank you," Sakura replied absently, already working through more of the reports.

-X-X-X-

In contrast to the way Hiashi had treated Neji in his youth after his father had died, the Hyuga clan head had spent his time after that fateful chunin exam being quietly but not intrusively supportive of his nephew. He of all people knew the cage of duty a clan could become.

But he had found himself unable to refrain from meddling entirely, so he had culled the company of the kunoichi who had sacrificed the possibility for the retrieval of her teammate to save Neji's life. Neji, whose talents meshed well with hers, had probably continued their association out of a mixture of gratitude and curiosity about the developing skills of Haruno Sakura.

Hiashi himself had wondered about the young shinobi, but dealing so closely with death sometimes produced some very strange coping mechanisms. As there was nothing so untowardly strange about her as to worry him about either the safety of his nephew or the village, he let the matter lie.

For he thought that the pink-haired girl had needed the friendship even more than Neji did. From the games they had played while he asked questions about her missions, he had known that she was cunning, rational if prone to bouts of quickly constrained emotion, and tenacious long before she had earned her promotion to jounin.

Hiashi would even flatter himself to think he knew her tolerably well. And he could see no reason for his nephew's peculiar hesitance in admitting his feelings to himself. Certainly, if they interfered with the operation of a team, romance was discouraged, but Neji and Sakura were both cool-headed to the point of absurdity at times.

But as he eyed his nephew, who was picking sullenly at his rice, he thought that he had just about reached the end of his patience. Neji was still a teenager, true, suffering through his first hormone-addled love, but this had to stop. He was turning love into a literal sickness.

He needed to confront his feelings for what they were and then decided whether he would act on them or not. It was as simple as that.

Hiashi signaled for the servants to leave them. The movement made Neji look up from the meal he'd been disrespecting, though others had labored over it. "Is something wrong, Hiashi-sama?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes. Something has bothered me for some time now," Hiashia replied, sliding his arms into opposite sleeves. Neji sat his chopsticks down carefully, then twisted so that his body and cushion faced the patriarch. "You would consider yourself quite close with your captain, correct?"

"Yes, Hiashi-sama," he replied, wariness written plain on his face.

"How close?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"If she was to suddenly decide to set her affections on someone else, you wouldn't be bothered by this?"

The wariness multiplied. "I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"Please answer my question, Neji."

"Sakura is very busy," he tried to avoid the question by dissembling.

"Business does not preclude love. Or lust," Hiashi said dryly.

"I suppose, as long as she chose well, I would be happy for her," he framed his answer with admirable caution, but the condition he placed on her choosing was a promising concession.

"And wouldn't she choose well?" he prodded.

"The last time, she chose the Uchiha," Neji replied, his expression souring.

"Well, this time she has a far more admirable option, if she decides that it was young Sasuke's personality that was lacking, rather than his appearance or his bloodline."

Neji frowned. "I doubt Sakura harbors feelings for Itachi."

"And what of he for her? Because surely his opinion would count as well."

Neji shook his head in a kind of uncertain denial. "No."

"But she will eventually find someone," Hiashi pointed out, enjoying this perhaps more than was strictly necessary. "While you are both still young, the life of a shinobi will expose you to many people, in all walks of life. Somewhere out there, she will perhaps find someone who resonates with her."

"Yes," Neji replied after a marked hesitation, stringing the word out into two syllables.

"I see no reason why you cannot simply set yourself up to be that one, when she is ready to fall in love again." Hiashi merely raised his brow as his nephew spluttered.

"Hiashi-sama...you cannot be serious!" Neji protested.

"Do I look as if I just said something I thought was funny?"

"No, Hiashi-sama," Neji replied weakly.

"Your affection is not unfounded. There is much to respect and admire in Haruno Sakura. However, your sublimation of your feelings will lead you both into danger if you cannot recognize them for what they are. You've neglected your body during Sakura's time in the hospital. And first and foremost, you must be her teammate before you are anything else. If, every time she is hurt, you endanger the whole team by overlooking your own health, there will come a time when you need your strength to protect her and you will have none. How long until neglecting your body also leads to the neglect of your emotional training? She is the captain of your ANBU squad. This is not a position absent of risk. How long until you begin to endanger the mission through excessive concern about her safety?"

"I only worry because she doesn't!" Neji snapped. "Not when it comes to _Sasuke._" The last word was twisted with dislike.

"There is nothing wrong with worrying about the person you like," Hiashi said softly. "But when you channel all your emotions for them into a single aspect-such as worrying over their wellbeing, it will throw everything out of balance."

"I don't like Sakura!" Neji protested.

"Do you respect her?"

"Of course."

"You spend a great deal of time together?"

"Yes," he said, voice heavy with exasperation.

"You find her physical appearance pleasing?"

"Just because Sakura is attractive doesn't mean I'm attracted to her," Neji pointed out.

"No. She does have a very broad forehead, after all."

"Only the Yamanaka still harps about that. It was because of the way she wore her bangs-it created the illusion that her forehead was broader than it really was."

"And I heard her last mission left her with scars on her face. Very bad, for a woman."

"Anyone who can't see beyond that scar is an idiot," Neji snapped, then blinked, realizing too late the simple verbal trap he'd been led into. He sat there for a few moments, in a very controlled state of dumbfounded, then he blinked slowly once and sighed. "I very likely like my captain," he confessed after a few minutes.

"Indeed," Hiashi agreed. He would be smug later-no need to cause Neji to retract his confession.

"Has...anyone noticed?"

"Oh, I think everyone knew. Except you. And Sakura."

"What do I do now?" he asked blankly.

"Carry on much as you had before. With the exception that now, you will be aware of your feelings. There is no need to rush into anything. Shinobi form many brief relationships in their life, but it will take strength of will, persistence, and patience from both of you to form something lasting. I don't know whether your love is destined to be the former or the latter. Only the two of you can decide that. I simply didn't want you to starve yourself to death before you got a chance to find out."

A/N: I've just about convinced myself Sasuke is capable of being a decent person. If you remove his entire motivating factor. Longer chapter this time, though we're still getting the emotional bits straightened out. We will see some action again, I promise, but the characters needed to talk some things out. Anyhow, please review!


	35. Madness Contagion

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the bishounen wouldn't keep getting killed off.

A/N: As always, thanks for all the reviews!

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-Five-

Madness Contagion

Sasuke stared after Sakura long after she had disappeared. There was something deeply vexing about the encounter, but it hadn't been Sakura's suspicion. That was to be expected. Just as she had said, he would have thought she was an idiot if she'd welcomed him back with open arms after everything he'd done. He certainly wouldn't have. Sasuke supposed he should be grateful, even if it did prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that his teammates were idiots.

No, what was vexing was that every time he'd seen Sakura since his return, even in her hospital bed, some half-formed thought fluttered across his mind, a wariness there was little enough cause for, a fear that was born of something that had never happened. As if he might summon Sakura back and somehow force her to explain what she had done to him, Sasuke glared at the dusty road from which Sakura had leaped to the roof.

A haze, like heat coming up off the concrete, surprised him and he blinked. And when he opened his eyes, Sakura was there. One hand was on a cocked hip, a pink eyebrow raised as she stared evenly back.

Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, a fancy hairpin rammed through it, tiny golden bells silent. She wore all black underneath the red Haruno clan haori she sported, not the hakama and gi style she'd been wearing when last they met, but clothing more suited to a proper ninja. A sleeveless ribbed black turtleneck and the standard jounin pants, coupled with knee-high boots Sasuke would bet any amount of money not only were reinforced with steel plating but also with the sealed weights she had been wearing since she'd decided to become a proper kunoichi. Matching black gauntlets and likely something to help reinforce the vulnerable joint at the elbow were probably concealed beneath the haori.

It seemed every time he looked away, Sakura had evolved into something almost unrecognizable, but it hadn't escaped Sasuke's notice how comfortable Sakura had seemed with herself, one she'd satisfied herself that he didn't care about her newest scar. _She'd grown up. _Grown beyond both the edgy hardness of the vicious jounin he remembered and the self-conscious girl buried deeply in his memory.

But though she was wearing the same outfit as when she'd taken her leave, something seemed out of place. _She should be wearing an ANBU uniform. _Which was a ridiculous thought. ANBU rarely wore their gear inside the village when not on active duty. ANBU membership, like most clan jutsu, was something of an open secret.

"Did you forget something?" he asked Sakura brusquely when she only continued to stare.

Her body shifted into motion with grace, sinuous and boneless. Sasuke's gaze locked with hers and something about her right eye caught his attention, his sight tunneling until that eye was all he could see. As he watched, the pupil dilated until it swallowed all but a tiny barrier of acid green, then he tumbled into the circular portal.

Whirling, he found his door had shifted, the hole from which sunlight and heat filtered far, far above his head. Quickly taking in his surroundings, Sasuke thought with astonishment that he seemed to be _inside _some sort of globe. As his eyes danced over the walls, his brain began to make connections and Sasuke found that he was inside a star map of the most rudimentary type, an engraved ball of tin that had holes punched in it that would project a map of the stars once a light source was inserted.

_What-_his thought was quickly dismissed as he ever so faintly heard the sound of bells and footsteps.

"Sakura?"

But the figure that emerged from the darkness was _not _Sakura. Not even close. "Orochimaru!" he hissed. As the Sannin, who he'd killed with his own two hands, walked toward him, streaks of white light lit narrow paths on the inside of the globe. The sunlight disappeared, leaving only white wheels turning in the darkness, the sharp light making Orochimaru's pale skin look like paper beneath moonlight, his slit yellow eyes reflecting light like an animal's.

Characters began to appear in the wheels, which Sasuke suddenly recognized were seals, but before he could begin to memorize them or interpret them, the characters flashed into flame. Sasuke's first instinct was to leap clear, but there was nowhere to go. Through the smoke, Sasuke glared at the snake, but was forced to blink again, not only from the sting of smoke, but because someone else now strode through the flames like they were a field of waving grass.

A black wheel turned in vermillion eyes, not the sharp spines he was familiar with, like blades, but three elongated tomoe chasing each other in an eternal circle, supported by thick beams of black. And in the center of their dance was darkness-it tugged at him, biting down on something he could not remember.

A handsome face, almost familiar, framed by a wild mane of black hair. _Who? _Sasuke was absolutely certain he knew who this was. But something prevented him from grasped the name. Something-he glanced upward and found the wheels still spinning slowly, rotating across the heavens, marring and illuminating constellations in turn.

The figure was drawing closer. Movement attracted his attention. A branch, weeping cherry blossom petals, was proffered in a gauntleted hand. Sasuke glanced upward at the face of the man again, to find familiar pink hair and dispassionate jade eyes watching him carefully.

"Sakura?" his voice sounded bewildered, even to his own ears. If this was a genjutsu, it was enormously complex. A-class at the very least. "Stop this at once," he demanded.

In response, she held out the branch again. "Quickly," she said, "it's wilting."

Even as she spoke, the branch continued to shed petals.

"I don't understand."

"Yes. You do. This is not a genjutsu. It's a house made of bits and pieces of memory."

"What memory?" he demanded.

She continued regarding him with that damned neutral face. "The one you are looking for. You would not be here otherwise." Her glance shifted downward, where the last of the pale petals were being snatched away by the breeze generated by the flames. As the last disappeared when a greedy flame reached out to devour it, the whole room shuddered.

Widening his stance, muscles in his jaw tense, Sasuke's eyes widened as Sakura smiled. And exposed a mouth full of teeth that gleamed with stabbing points, a smile that a deep sea predator might wear, but never a human being.

A hand descended on his shoulder and Sasuke stood and turned in one smooth movement, ready to annihilate the threat. Kakashi looked surprised. "Is something wrong, Sasuke?" he inquired.

Feeling more than faintly off balance, it took him a moment to smooth out his breathing. "Nothing, Kakashi," he reported coldly.

"Because when I first arrived, you seemed to find that patch of road very, very interesting."

"It's none of your business," Sasuke retorted. "Did you want something, Kakashi?"

There was that old, disarming eye-crinkling smile. "Now, do I need an excuse to talk to one of my students?"

Sasuke snorted. "I haven't been your student for a long time."

Kakashi's melodramatic sigh made him want to roll his eyes, but he refrained. The sooner Kakashi fulfilled whatever self-assigned mission he'd given himself, the sooner he could hunt down Sakura. Latent genjutsu or no, she was at the root of the strange as hell waking vision he'd just experienced. "What do you want?" he demanded of the silver-haired ninja.

"I was going to ask if you had seen Sakura, but you seemed pretty preoccupied staring at that stretch of road."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What did you need Sakura for?"

Kakashi smiled, that eye-crinkling smile that had generally pissed Sasuke off in the past. It seemed years of absence hadn't changed that. "I'm afraid that it's pretty far above genin clearance."

Sasuke assessed his former teacher. "How did Sakura recruit my brother?" he asked after a significant pause.

Running a hand through his hair, Kakashi chuckled, but it was not an entirely humorous sound. "Honestly, Sasuke, I have no idea. The three of you..." he left his sentence unfinished, but Sasuke did not need for him to say the words. All three had been chasing something that couldn't be found in Team Seven.

Standing, he glanced back over his shoulder. "I haven't seen Sakura since she signed herself out of the hospital, but I'll tell her you were looking for her if I see her."

"Not me. Tell her the Elders are looking for her."

Sasuke raised a brow. What could the Elders want with Sakura? "Just Sakura?"

Kakashi nodded. Thoughtful now, Sasuke turned and began to amble through Konoha in the direction Sakura had gone. Closing his eyes, he tried to sense her chakra, but Sakura's control over her chakra had always been unmatched. What he needed in this situation was Karin, but he doubted she would so easily acquiesce to his request to track the pink-haired kunoichi. So far as Sasuke knew, the two had never met, but Karin had expressed an intense dislike of Sakura. It might have been explained by Karin's almost obsessive interest in him and Sakura's role in his first capture and return, but it seemed there was more to it.

It had not interested him enough to actually ask.

Kakashi had likely inquired at ANBU headquarters long before he would have set out to search the city, if he was seriously looking for Sakura. So it was pointless to repeat his search pattern. Instead of casting about for Sakura herself, he searched for her ever-present teammates. Though she'd been alone when he'd seen her earlier, he doubted that they didn't know where she was.

He could not sense the Hyuuga or the artist, but that wasn't unexpected. Konoha was a large city and he had never bothered to memorize the feel of their chakra. But there was a very familiar chakra that burned against the edge of his senses and he trailed it doggedly, hesitating only briefly when it led him, of all places, underground.

The guards were a bit unhappy about his intrusion, but it wasn't the first time he'd taken care of unhappy guards. Or sealed doors. Narrowing his eyes at the pair of doors he'd had to give himself a hellish migraine to open in order to use the Sharingan long enough to convince the weakest of the guards that he was supposed to be escorting him through, Sasuke frowned. It was one thing to seal doors. It was another to engrave seals onto operative's bodies to open them.

_What is this place? _Moving deftly through the shadows, Sasuke avoided other shinobi, thinking grimly that he should have done something with the unconscious bodies at the entrance. _This isn't ANBU headquarters. _And yet, every shinobi he saw was a masked operative.

Finally, he drew closer to his brother's chakra signature. Smothering his own, he crept as close as he dared. Luck was on his side, for it seemed his brother and Sakura were in some sort of conference room, the door open and every visible inch of space on the walls covered with maps and manila file folders were piled high on the table.

His brother looked peculiar wearing glasses, but somehow they suited him, enhancing his already cerebral air. He was sitting at the table, half-turned so that he could see the door, jaw resting on an open palm supported by an elbow on the table as watched Sakura. For Itachi, it was an incredibly casual pose and Sasuke, by instinct, bristling internally at the show of comfort in Sakura's presence.

Itachi's smooth voice was almost a surprise. "You should speak to Sasuke of his time with Madara, Haruno-taichou. I was with Akatsuki far longer, but it was essential that I pretend as if I did not know his identity, so my information is limited. When Sasuke was accompanying him, he presented himself openly as Madara. He may be able to offer fresh insight."

"Insight that I can trust?" Sakura's voice was cooler than he expected, given their earlier conversation. "I received the report from T&I."

Sasuke's brows furrowed. There was something off kilter with this scene. Sakura had the rank to request files, even S-class T&I files, but only the Hokage could grant access and the Hokage had been unconscious since the battle with Pein. Sakura was speaking as if receiving the files was a matter of course, which even if she was an ANBU captain, wasn't the case. Sasuke wasn't privy to the actual number of active ANBU squads, but he was fairly certain that there were about ten permanent squads and half that number of jounin who could be called in to form reserve squads. Sakura was not particularly special or unique in her position as a squad captain, though he doubted many of the others had managed to obtain permission to recruit a former S-class criminal. But, as only one of many, she wouldn't necessarily have access to files that were strictly need to know.

"Reading a report isn't the same as listening in person, as you well know. And you are in a much better position to ask questions than even the operatives in T&I."

Sakura half-turned to Itachi, frowning. The movement brought her brows together, which seemed pull at the tender edges of her scar and she winced, a hand coming to her face. "You are not fully recovered," Itachi chided her, but in a tone that made it clear he did not expect his words to be of any effect. "Your battle with Madara did incredible damage to your body and due to unexpected circumstances, Tsunade-sama was not able to oversee all of your healing." Only his brother could manage to blithely call something like Pein's attack 'unexpected circumstances,' Sasuke thought, but Sakura's injuries might explain why she had not sensed him yet.

Or Itachi, for that matter. When Sakura turned back to her maps and Itachi's head tilted slightly toward the door, Sasuke abruptly realized that his brother knew he was there.

"Since you've come all this way, why don't you come in, Sasuke?" he asked.

Scowling, Sasuke stalked inside the room. Sakura barely spared him a glance, but she did say, "I hope you didn't kill anyone to get here."

"You don't seem surprised," he observed.

"Itachi's attempt to convince me to ask you about Madara," her voice turned the name into clipped syllables, "were something of a segue from our earlier conversation."

"What is this place?" he asked confrontationally.

"ROOT headquarters." Sakura gave him a sour look. "Expect to have an extra seal added to your array before you're allowed to leave. And you didn't kill anyone on the way in, did you?"

"Why would you care?" he asked, pieces clicking into place in his mind. Sakura. Root. Danzo.

She exchanged a glance with Itachi. "While there are many tactical advantages to surprise, in your position there has to be some exchange of information in order to create truly effective tools."

Sasuke stiffened at his brother's speech and Itachi took note. "For someone who once decided to sever all bonds, you are remarkably touchy when treated as you say you desire," Itachi told him. "ROOT is unlike any other division in Konohagakure. You know of Danzo and his actions in the massacre, but I doubt you are familiar enough with his tactics to realize what kind of an army he was creating in the dark."

"Itachi," Sakura snapped, voice full of warning.

Itachi stood, the differences in their height apparent even across the table. "He is my brother," he explained simply and something in Sasuke relaxed. "If you do not trust him, trust me, taichou."

It rankled a little to see his brother, magnitudes stronger, appeal to his former teammate as his superior, but there was something cold and calculating in Sakura's eyes, something that he thought, with an eerie chill, that could assign worth even to familial relationships, her mind obviously weighing possible gain and loss from whatever secret it was they shared between them.

The strange thing was, it was an expression that looked at home on her face, just as laughter or appeak once had. After it seemed she had reached a decision, the hardness ebbed and Sakura simply looked tired. "It's on your head," she murmured to Itachi. "Because I know that threatening either of you would be a waste of time and men. But remember, Itachi, just how far I am willing to go." The last was said with no obvious malice, but his brother, of all people, stiffened.

"I remember, Sakura," he said softly, but Sakura does not look moved by his admission. "You have more dead Akatsuki to your name than any living person."

Sakura shrugged, as if killing members of the group is of no consequence. As if they were simply another battle. "None of them were Uchiha."

Sasuke can't help the smirk that crossed his lips. "Don't think you could win?" he taunted.

She frowned at him, but did not otherwise respond.

"Sasuke," Itachi chided him softly. "In here, you should show Haruno-taichou appropriate respect."

Itachi has always been a stickler for protocol. The first time he had heard Itachi refer to Sakura by her name, rather than as "my captain" or "Haruno-taichou" or even "Sakura-taichou," he thought he had misheard. He does not do it often. In fact, now that she is actually awake, Sasuke is beginning to suspect he only uses it when asking a personal favor. But he had said, "in here," which implied there was something special about this room or building.

"Why?" he asked. Because for Sasuke, unlike Itachi, polite respect was not an automatic response.

"Because Haruno-taichou is the head of ANBU Root."

Sakura didn't even glance away from her maps to gauge his expression and Itachi was speaking in that damned toneless voice of his again. The one with which he'd always relayed official clan business. Sasuke does not like how he seems, still, after all these years, to be able at one moment to be the untouchable, admirable big brother he has hated, loved, and envied in turns and in the next be the most heartless, perfect example of a shinobi ever created.

But his news is somehow less surprising than Sasuke had thought it would be. If Sakura was the head of a secretive underground cell of ANBU operatives, it somehow made it sting less that she'd foiled his plans not once but twice now. The fact that it was this particular group is incongruous to Sakura's personality, but perhaps they are not so different. Danzo was Sakura's Orochimaru. Except, where he had destroyed his mentor's legacy and his mentor himself, Sakura seemed not quite done with Danzo's.

"Hn," he finally remarked aloud. "And what would you need tools for, Sakura?" The informality annoyed his brother, which is why he did so, Itachi's lips tightening in an expression that isn't quite a frown.

"That man we found you with-what had he asked you to do?"

"Madara? We were hunting the eight tails." Sasuke remembered the burning anger as the man had refused to allow him to attack Konoha directly, insisting that his way would far better serve Sasuke's revenge.

Sakura glanced at him over her shoulder. "Your team was specialized in pursuit. It would have ended badly," she predicted.

Sasuke shrugged. Though he had chosen each of them carefully, one of the most important criteria for his selection was their near-invincibility in battle. He could not be bothered or distracted by teammates that would require his assistance, so he had chosen Suigetsu and Juugo, one of whom was terribly difficult to maim and the other capable of immense regeneration. Though Sakura had expressed her doubts, he had none. His team would have accomplished their mission.

"No matter," Sakura said softly when she saw his indifference. "At least we know where we stand. Madara must still secure the eight-tails and Naruto. That gives us time, at least, but not much."

Sasuke turned his attention to her maps and soon his brain began to work out what he was seeing. "You're hunting Akatsuki," he said.

"Yes," Sakura affirmed. "But these are all just secondary targets. Madara is the real objective."

Sasuke was certain that his face expressed more than a little disbelief. "Madara is untouchable."

"No one is untouchable," Sakura replied darkly, her voice touched with prophecy. "But I really doubt you came here to offer your services. I'm a busy woman with a curfew," Sasuke doesn't know how she managed to say that with a straight face, but she did, "so why are you here, Sasuke?"

He had come to confront her about the genjutsu or whatever the hell it was that he'd just experienced, but he sure as hell wasn't about to confront her about it in front of Itachi. He'd thought to find them in a neutral zone, where he could "borrow" Sakura and ask her a few pointed questions. But this was very clearly Sakura's territory. Everyone in this building, perhaps even his brother, would side with her against him if it came to blows. Because Sasuke wouldn't put it beyond the jounin who had broken his bones and poisoned him to attempt to drive him to madness.

So he said instead, "Kakashi sent me. The Elders are looking for you."

Sakura's cocked brow clearly said that she didn't believe him, but she nodded. "The Elders," she said dryly. "Well then, I shouldn't keep them waiting. Kami-sama knows whose day that want me to ruin now."

-X-X-X-

Not fourty-five minutes later, blood is pounding in her ears so loud she can hardly think as she slides the door to the council room shut behind her.

She had known, from reports, that the jinchuriki from Kumogakure was the Raikage's brother. Statistically speaking, most of the demon containers were blood relations to Kage. But she had not expected that the Raikage would demand a summit of Kage to deal with the issue of his captured brother. A brother, that by all reports, had been captured by none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

Eyes narrowed, Sakura contemplated simultaneously that they had brought back a decoy or that the pretender had forced one of his own operatives to henge into Sasuke for his own purposes. Such as alienating Konoha with the intention of bringing Kumo down upon them.

When she thought she might scream, Madara broke over her, breaking down her tangled thoughts into manageable objectives. _Inflexibility is also weakness, _he scolded. _Simply because things do not proceed according to your plan does not mean that you cannot turn them to your advantage. The Raikage has done you the favor of assembling the Kage-for good or ill, the responsibility for that sets on his head. You must now only make ready to meet his accusations. _

_ But, in order to meet his accusations in person, I shall have to do something...terrible. _

Madara scoffed. He would have made reply, but it seemed her feet had unerringly led her back to her office, where Itachi and, surprisingly, Sasuke, were awaiting her.

"What did the Elders want?" Sasuke demanded not twenty seconds after she had entered, before she had even taken her seat behind the desk.

Silently, Nezumi poured her tea and after a check for poison that was second nature, she took a grateful sip. Iron control made certain she did not spit it out again. Replacing the ceramic cup with nary a sound on the wood, she murmured, "Nezumi, I know it is against protocol, but next time allow someone else to make the tea."

"Yes, Haruno-sama," he acknowledged.

Sasuke's dark eyes demanded she quite stalling, which she wasn't. She was simply searching for a tactful way of phrasing her next question. "Itachi."

"Yes, Haruno-taichou?"

"Have you used the Mangekyo on your brother since his capture?"

Itachi looked startled and Sasuke more so. "I have not, Haruno-taichou. What is this about?" Itachi inquired.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, at the moment. Would you be willing to use the Mangekyo to ascertain something?"

"What are you talking about, Sakura?" Sasuke demanded coldly.

"Just now, I received intelligence that you and your team had captured the eight-tails." She matched the chill in his tone. "With your level of control, a shadow clone would dispel over such a great distance. And as it is impossible, so far as I know, for a person to be in two places at once, this leaves me to draw one of two conclusions. The first is that you are a plant. The second is that someone has impersonated you. I will not be satisfied until I know which is true. And, quite frankly, I don't give a damn at the moment _how _this truth is achieved."

Sasuke frowned. Then, surprisingly, he nodded. "I understand. Aniki," he said, turning to Itachi.

Itachi looked unhappy. "Sasuke..."

Sasuke snorted. "It won't be the worst thing you've ever done to me."

Itachi's expression closed off at that. "Very well, Sasuke." Removing his glasses, Itachi's eyes flared with the familiar crimson. "For your own good."

Sasuke would have retorted, but his body stiffened as his mind was caught. Sakura's fingers tapped out an impatient tattoo on her desk, but it couldn't have even been a minute later when Sasuke suddenly slumped, like a puppet with the strings cut.

Itachi was frowning, which Sakura interpreted to mean the worst, but he shook his head. "There is a seal on a part of his memory, but otherwise, he is Sasuke."

Sakura relaxed visibly, which prompted a snide comment from Sasuke. "What, not afraid someone planted sleeper orders in my head?"

"The seal is mine, Sasuke. From the last time you tried to invade my mind with Sharingan."

His dark eyes narrowed and Itachi paused in the act of putting his glasses back on. "And why the hell would that lead to a seal on my memories."

"Because there was something about that battle I didn't want you to remember." Sakura did not add _idiot, _but she was tempted and much of that was conveyed in her tone.

"Unseal it. Now," Sasuke demanded.

"You're not in a position to make demands, Sasuke," Sakura retorted. "Do you realize the implications? That jinchuriki isn't some nobody. It's the Raikage's brother. And you are a missing nin from Konoha, one that Tsunade-shishou has been more than lax in capturing. He _will _blame us, Sasuke. In fact, he already has. A summit of the Kage has been called."

Itachi blinked. "That's unprecedented. Most of the major nations have been at war with one another within the last generation. Cooperation is almost out of the question."

Sakura's smile was wry. "Expectations are created to be thwarted. All the major nations have accepted the invitation."

"But Tsunade is in a coma," Sasuke said slowly.

"The Elders accepted on her behalf. For now, they will appoint a new Hokage," Sakura reported grimly.

"They've asked you," Itachi's voice was low, but sure. Sakura's wry smile disappeared.

"Why...?" Sasuke asked, for once looking not malicious but genuinely confused.

"If she had not ousted Danzo, it is likely he would have assumed power," Itachi said, eyes alive with intelligence as he made masterful leaps of logic. "Tsunade-sama has only one proper apprentice and Shizune cannot be spared from the Hokage's side, even if she was willing or competent enough to assume the position."

"They asked Kakashi. He refused it," Sakura reported grimly. "If the Elders were willing to press harder, they might be able to talk him into it, but without a real internal threat to protect Konoha from by assuming the position of Kage, it will be difficult to convince him."

Itachi nodded. "He was a student of the Fourth and both well-known and well-regarded. However, you should not overlook the fact that you are also the apprentice of the Godaime as well as Danzo's successor. As far as the Elders are concerned, appointing you would satisfy both factions."

"A leader that makes everyone happy isn't a leader worth having," Sakura murmured irritably, but the political animal in her, the one honed by years under Tsunade-shishou even if she had learned nothing of her master's healing jutsu, knew what Itachi was saying was true.

Even Sasuke seemed to understand. "This will piss Naruto off," he judged. "He comes in to save the day and _you _end up Hokage."

Sakura glared at him. "No. I won't. They wouldn't allow me to refuse at the meeting, but I have every intention of doing so."

"Why?" Itachi's question startled her. "Even if you have no intention of assuming the kage-ship permanently, it would put you in the best position to solve the crisis we are now facing."

"Because if I say yes, then Naruto will never get to be Hokage!" Sakura hissed, standing so suddenly that both brothers flinched and the tea in her cup sloshed onto her desk. The words escaped her before her mind caught up to her mouth. When she saw their expressions, she wished suddenly she had power over time, to take them back. To unsay them. Because this time, she doubted either Uchiha brother would be distracted.

"You said you didn't want to be Hokage," Sasuke challenged her, standing as well, using his superior height in an attempt to loom over her.

Sakura's lips twisted up in a sneer. "I would never steal Naruto's dream."

"Then accept for now and abdicate." This from Itachi.

"Neither of you understand," Sakura asserted, running a frantic hand through her hair, pulling loose long strands and making her bangs go askew. A twinge of pain from her scar reminded her of its presence. "I don't let go of things that are mine. Once I am in power, I won't be able to step down."

"What do you mean, 'won't be able'?" Sasuke mocked. "Isn't that just an excuse? You make it sound like someone else is making your decisions."

Sakura gritted her teeth. Violence surged through her blood, hot and heady. But Madara regulated its pulse, sharpened its purpose. She could kill Sasuke here and Madara would never let her know regret. But Madara would also have her be Hokage. And unlike Orochimaru, Madara did not mind discovery.

She took a deep breath, but there was no cleansing breeze in Root. Just the air of the tunnels, saturated with death and secrecy. "Why did you come here today, Sasuke?" she asked. "It wasn't because of Kakashi. The seal must be eroding already. Naruto's as well. It was only a matter of time, I suppose."  
She brought a hand up to cover her eyes and worked on them a transformation, red and black marking out an eternal dance of despair, familiar to her as her own reflection in a mirror. It was nothing more than basic henge, for the only place she possessed Sharingan was in her mind, where anything was possible, but she knew that even the appearance would be enough. "I think it would help you to remember," she managed in a thick voice, "if I showed you these." And with infinite slowness, she let her hand drop.


	36. Preparation for a Long Journey

Disclaimer: Still. Do. Not. Own.

A/N: If everyone who followed this story reviewed only two chapters, it would make my two thousand reviews twice over. As that is an unrealistic dream, I want offer my most sincere thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. Thus far, you've gotten me through 36 chapters, which is the equivalent to coaxing me through a novel. I know enthusiasm sometimes wanes when a story draws on as long as Five Kingdoms has, but let me know you're out there and you still like/dislike what's going on.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-Six-

Preparation for a Long Journey

His conscious mind processed only _Sharingan _before a high keening from Sasuke alarmed him. His younger brother had his hands clenched tightly in his lap, his own eyes mere slits, but red was quickly spilling into his irises.

"Do not be alarmed," Sakura said evenly. Her tone had gone smooth and deep again, as it had been when she recruited him. "The seal on his memories is being dissolved. While the process itself should be painless, reintegrating memories is less so. It will be less painful if you do not resist, Sasuke."

"Like hell, Madara," Sasuke gasped painfully and Itachi tensed, half-standing from his chair as Sasuke's spine went rigid and he clutched at his temples, mouth opening in a silent scream. "Get out of my head!" he rasped.

Sakura-or whomever she was-was unmoved. "Sit down, Itachi. Sasuke is in no danger."

"I am afraid, from my perspective, that does not seem to be the case."

A pink brow rose as he stood, placing himself protectively between Sakura and Sasuke. "If I was truly Madara, nothing you are capable of would protect your brother from me," she asserted confidently. "But this Sharingan is illusion, nothing more. I am not capable of manipulating space and time."

"Sasuke's pain would testify otherwise."

"Sasuke is a child, flailing at shadows and injuring himself in the process. Your chakra is sealed, Uchiha. And if you keep drawing on it in order to activate your Sharingan, you will do yourself _permanent_ injury."

There was an inhalation of breath behind then, then he felt Sasuke relax. Warily, Itachi stepped to the side so he could see his brother in his peripheral vision.

"Madara?" he inquired, half-turning to Sakura.

"Just so. You need not look so surprised, Itachi. You had your own suspicions." Sakura's expression was disinterested, foreign. The red of her eyes sat strangely in her face, but as he looked more closely, he revised his original assessment. Not simply Sharingan. Mangekyo Sharingan, of a design he had only ever observed in the secret shrine beneath the compound. "But I am also not Madara."

His own eyes narrowed. "I am afraid I don't follow."

Sakura blinked and the Sharingan was gone, replaced by verdant green and when she spoke, it was with more of her usual animation. "When I was a genin on Team Seven, I...repressed my violent tendencies to impress a certain someone with my grace and decorum." Her voice was very dry and she spared a significant glance at Sasuke, who only glared back, one hand still pressed to his temple.

"Most people don't have that many thoughts of violence," Sasuke grumbled, but he still sounded shaken, which was extremely unusual in his brother. _Just what had he remembered? _

"I don't want to be told that by someone who spent his entire childhood making certain everyone and Naruto knew you were an _avenger_," Sakura retorted. "But my efforts to impress, well, everyone, came with an unexpected side effect. I developed a secondary personality, not quite independent, but no longer cohesive enough to really call her _me. _But she was harmless. She probably would have been reabsorbed once I reconciled myself to my own violence. But, unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon your point of view, I never had a chance to do so. After a certain...incident...I had a full psychotic break," she reported flatly.

Sasuke dropped his hand to look at her warily. Itachi split his focus between them, noting how Sakura's gaze was directed somewhere over their shoulders, as if she was distancing herself from the report.

"At that point, my condition evolved into a kind of dissociative personality disorder. I was-am-the prime personality and aware of the others, who could not manifest, but were-and are-quite capable of influence. When we took our first chunin exam, we encountered Orochimaru. Sasuke would eventually leave to train under him, but by that time, _my _Orochimaru," and she pointed a finger to her head, "would have...taught me," and her voice caught on those words, "many things."

"He was there," Sasuke interjected said suddenly. "When I used Sharingan to enter your mind."

Sakura frowned at him. "I wish you wouldn't have done that," she said softly. "You're very lucky. Inside, Madara is real. He could have destroyed your mind."

"He told me he was you," Sasuke accused.

"And he was both lying and not lying. Madara is...different. He is," and she had to force this admission past visibly stiff lips, "the only one who can use this body against my will."

Itachi consciously kept his tone calm as he inquired, "It would appear that there are some things that have transpired that I was not privy to. Before I form any hasty judgments," Sasuke snorted, "perhaps one or both of you would like to tell me what exactly happened during your battle?"

It was Sasuke who answered, but his eyes never left Sakura, almost as if he expected her to transform before his eyes. His Sharingan had deactivated after only a moment, his chakra level too weak, just as Sakura had asserted, to maintain the draining doujutsu for more than a heartbeat, but his eyes betrayed a level of wariness he'd rarely seen Sasuke display. "Like I said, I entered her mind using Sharingan. I intended to turn the Kyuubi against her. I'd already tied the mindscapes together and captured the fox-the damn thing's easy to manipulate. But when I turned it against Sakura, it's not Sakura who countered the attack."

"Madara?" Itachi confirmed.

Sasuke nodded curtly. "He overrode my control. And he did it in an instant."

Itachi turned to Sakura, silently requesting an explanation. "Perception creates reality in the mind," she said. "Madara isn't...well he is...," she sighed, then tried again. "Madara is a real being, in the sense he is or at least seems capable of independent thought. However, he is also a created existence, dredged up out of my subconscious from old records and journals. I suppose it's possible, if you buy into the idea of a universal human unconscious, that in my madness I was able to dip into the well of human memory and produce either Madara's soul itself or an exact replica, but I find it more probable to posit that he is nothing more and nothing less than a creation of my mind. But how he was created is, I suppose, less important than what he is. Everything the village has on record about the historical Uchiha Madara, the Madara of my mind is capable of. Including using his Sharingan to control the Kyuubi."

Itachi frowned. "Those records...they should have been sealed, if they ever existed at all."

Sakura met his eyes squarely. "I _am _talented in fuuinjutsu."

"I see," Itachi murmured. "And you could not seal these personalities?"

It was her turn to frown. "The thought never occurred to me to try."

"Perhaps their influence?" Itachi suggested with what delicacy he could muster.

"That's not exactly what I meant." Sakura's hand came to rest on the back of her chair, her knuckles turning white with the strength of her grip. "Physical weakness can be overcome with training, but I was always emotionally weak," she said after a moment. "What I was looking for, I couldn't find in other people, but I didn't realize that at the time. When Sasuke left, I was _grateful _to Orochimaru-my Orochimaru, as much as he horrified me and I hated him. For years, not once have I ever had to worry about being left behind, about being alone. I am _never _alone. Waking or dreaming, whatever situations I found myself in, there has always been someone there ."

Sasuke sneered a little at the admission, but Itachi could only feel thoughtful. But then he processed the way Sakura swayed and he was at her side in an instant. "Sit," he insisted sharply. When she did not immediately comply, he took hold of her arm and guided her into her seat. She resisted only briefly, then she sighed.

"I would prefer to stand," she murmured.

"You will sit now or you will fall down later," he replied.

Sakura, now sitting, craned her neck to stare at him incredulously. He allowed no emotion to creep onto his face, instead moving to sit in his own chair. Even Sasuke was watching him with an air of disbelief, brows high on his forehead. Eventually, Sasuke cleared his throat and continued his narrative and they were silent as he finished. Sakura looked neither nervous nor relieved during this exposé. Instead, she merely looked resigned, as if she had always expected to at some point be confronted. Which was only reasonable, given the extent of her condition, but Itachi's brilliant mind was already analyzing all he knew of Sakura in light of the recent information.

This was the reason she was so willing to die, he realized suddenly. The reason for her inexplicable and unreasonable action in the battle against Madara, which she had entered with full knowledge that death was the most likely outcome. He had been willing to accept that, in order to save his brother from both Madara and himself, but a part of him had questioned Sakura's motives. For he had known her long enough to know that altruism, while not beyond her, was not something she did blindly, without an awareness of the far-reaching consequences of her actions. And he had known she questioned the wisdom of retrieving Sasuke.

It was an eye-opening realization and somewhat humbling. Sakura expected death, that he could read in her expression, whether by battle or the order of the Council. But, even after hiding her condition for years, she had decided that their compact was worth sacrificing herself for though he knew, even if she did not, that for someone of her skill and application, there were few heights beyond her reach.

But he also knew, that for all her prodigious abilities, that Sakura did not believe she was the equal of her teammates. Once he had discovered her position as head of Root, he had thought that it would be sufficient to prove to her that her abilities were more than simply sufficient, but there had been hints that Sakura saw her position not as something earned, but as one last spiteful political move from Danzo to Tsunade.

But Itachi suspected that he knew her better than she knew herself now. Even with the new revelations, she was the one most suited to guiding Konoha through the rough waters of the current political situation, which was too delicate to handle Naruto's roughshod methods, though Itachi had his private doubts that their fragile ties with the other Hidden Villages would ever be prepared for the eventuality Team Seven seemed to have adopted as something akin to fate.

Great personal charisma, after all, did not instantly equate to an equal ability in the political arena. Nor was talent on the battlefield the only quality a Hokage required.

But he could begin to understand why Sakura, believing that the position rightly belonged to Naruto, would want to refuse the position when he considered not her opinion of the situation, but Madara's.

"Madara thinks Naruto is unfit to be Hokage."

Clear surprise showed on her face. "Yes. How...?"

"And Madara would never want to step down from the position, once he'd achieved it."

"Yes."

"You said you had your psychotic break after a 'certain incident'," Sasuke interjected rudely. "You started acting strangely after the Forest of Death. Was it Orochimaru?" he pressed.

Sakura frowned. "Does it matter?"

Her evasion pricked something in Itachi's memory. An encounter with a young pink-haired kunoichi, who just happened to be caught in his Tsukiyomi-and broke free of it. Had she already been as she was now? Or had he...?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed when he happened to glance at Itachi. "Or did you...? Sakura was in the hospital for a long time after her encounter with you," he pointed out accusingly.

"I...," for once, Itachi fumbled with his words, uncertain what kind of reply he could give his brother.

"Enough," Sakura snapped, forestalling the obvious argument. "Whether Itachi was the catalyst or not is irrelevant. It was only a matter of time."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"You have a very short memory, Sasuke. Just because you don't yet possess the Mangekyo Sharingan wouldn't have made your meddling in my mind any less unpleasant."

Sasuke frowned, but could not dispute the fact.

Itachi, however, had doubts. "But the Tsukiyomi was specifically developed as a torture technique."

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Itachi..." She glared at them both, then riffled angrily through the files on her desk. Finding the one she wanted, she slammed it down on the edge near them. Both peered at it.

"What is this?" Sasuke finally inquired, when neither of them moved to touch.

"It's part of the trail of destruction left by that pretender," Sakura replied bitterly. "It's on my father."

Sasuke glanced up at her, brows furrowed. "I thought your father was in charge of the Haruno clan trading conglomerate."

"He is. But he wasn't always Haruno Toshihiko. That name is only an alias he assumed after he emigrated to the Land of Fire."

"He's an immigrant?" Itachi asked curiously, but his tone was heavy with caution.

"He was left with little enough choice, after he slaughtered the entire ruling family of Mizu no Kuni and half the ministry."

Shock was written plainly on Sasuke's face and Itachi was certain it was reflected on his own.

"Why...?" Sasuke managed brokenly.

"Because he was the Mizu Daimyo. It was actually a clever move, tactically speaking. The shock and horror of the incident paralyzed the ordinary citizenry, while simultaneously crippling the government, so that they could not act effectively during the bloodline purges. By breaking the mind of one man, he brought a country to its knees.

"You almost sound like you admire him," Sasuke replied sourly.

"I am not like you, Sasuke. Not anymore. My emotional reaction to the revelation that my father had another family, one which he massacred, is separate from my analysis of the event as an attack orchestrated by an enemy shinobi. And if that offends you, Sasuke, consider for a moment that my father has lived in peace and relative luxury in Konohagakure as a man of both immense wealth and not inconsiderable political influence. Why should I consider avenging that, especially when my father himself seems to have put his past behind him?"

It was not a question that Sasuke could really answer, but he would not have been Sasuke if he did not try. "So his first family should just be forgotten, is that it?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"They are no longer alive to protest," Sakura retorted with just as much ice. "And they are all people I have never met. Your overweening concern for the preservation of human life shows up only when it's convenient, Sasuke, and I don't have the time or energy to practice that kind of hypocrisy. Because the plain fact is if my father had never killed his first family, he would have never had his second, which would mean that I would never have existed. For that, at least, I am obliged to be grateful to this Madara pretender. So my hunt for him is outside the bounds of this personal feud you have with the world that wronged you. I will kill him or at the very least be instrumental in his death, not because I believe he is an evil man or because he utilized innocents, nor even because I lost to him-but because he represented a real and actionable threat against my village."

Despite himself, Itachi could feel the edges of his lips trying to pull fondly upward. "Whatever you once were, you've grown into a fine shinobi," he told Sakura.

-X-X-X-

The two Uchiha insisted on escorting her back to the Council chambers, which Sakura could have told them was both unnecessary and unwanted, she feeling more vulnerable and exposed than when Sai had found her naked and bleeding on the floor. One or both of them might decide to take this opportunity to have her declared unfit for duty.

It was unusual, but it did occur, when a shinobi's peculiar habits transcended the realm considered acceptable coping and deviated into flight risk or worse, a danger to their fellow operatives. Itachi might have been the most graphic example of a highly capable shinobi turning against the village, but he certainly wasn't the only one. Conditioning could only prepare a young shinobi for so much and eventually, many simply broke down entirely. Usually in a retirement to a remote fishing village kind of way, but sometimes in a murder every reminder of their soiled past kind of way.

But insist they did. Or rather, Itachi insisted, on the excuse that her earlier interview had already left her exhausted and someone needed to be there in case she collapsed and Sasuke simply didn't leave.

So she was flanked close on either side as she presented herself to the Council, the elders having encouraged the two Uchiha to follow her in when she was received at the door.

Somehow, without Danzo behind the long, curving desk, Homura-sama and Koharu-sama looked somehow smaller, older. Homura drove straight to the point. "Have you finished your deliberations, Haruno-chan?"

Sakura bowed, "While it honored me to be considered for the position of Hokage, I feel my own youth should lend precedence to other, more worthy candidates. If I may be bold, perhaps my former sensei? I know in the past he was considered for Tsunade-sama's position."

Koharu answered her. "At the moment, Hatake Kakashi is not even in the village. He is leading a team to apprehend the Team Hebi doppelgangers. You subordinates, Hyuuga Neji and the Root agent you've continued to call Sai, accompanied him when he left."

Sakura stiffened. _My team...? Why would...? They're boxing me in, the old foxes! They couldn't have left but an hour or two ago at most. I saw Neji and Sai this morning and neither of them spoke as if they intended to leave on a mission. I don't know how they convinced them, but without my team, I'm effectively crippled as an ANBU squad leader. _

"Understand," Homura said in a conciliating manner, "Haruno-chan, that someone will have to take the position so that we can send a representative to the summit. We do not have the time for long deliberations, so we need someone who is qualified to counter any troubles the other Kage will start, while at the same time having some legitimacy. As we said in our first interview, you trained under both the current Hokage and Shimura, as well as Hatake, who was a disciple of the Fourth. In those terms, there are none who could succeed the position so smoothly."

"And it is an appointment of limited duration," Koharu added. "Once the princess wakes, she will return to her duties as Godaime."

"The village needs you in her time of crisis," Homura resumed. "Will you ignore her call?"

Sakura's response might have been scathing, but Itachi touched her elbow and leaned close. "Haruno-taichou, I am aware of your feelings on this matter. But consider for a moment who they might appoint in your place."

Pausing, Sakura wracked her brain, but could come up with very few candidates and fewer still who were talented in diplomacy. But despite this, she also did not believe that she could win against Madara. Tsunade-shishou would resume her duties and all would be well for the remainder of her reign, but what would happen once she died or abdicated? Having been Hokage once, Sakura's already impressive resume would lend itself to her reappointment.

A nudge came from the side where Sasuke was standing, drawing her from her reflections. "If you're worried about the idiot, don't bother," he said without ever moving his eyes from the Council.

Sakura inhaled through her teeth, despising the situation. She could suggest Naruto, but what good would it do? The Council wouldn't approve of sending him to what was already a rather obvious target for Madara.

So, with ill grace, she bowed and murmured through clenched teeth, "I would be honored to accept the appointment."

"Very good," Himura replied. "As to arrangements for your travel, each of the Kage will be allowed to have two escorts. I recommend you take the ones you brought with you today. Word of Itachi's survival has been suppressed and Sasuke is rumored to be off kidnapping jinchuriki, so you will have both the strength of the Sharingan and surprise on your side."

Sakura blinked. Itachi she could readily understand and accept, but Sasuke? She said as much aloud.

"We have already spoke with Hyuuga Hiashi-sama about this matter," Koharu allowed, revealing how confident they had been in Sakura's eventual appointment. "He has agreed to share with you, under the strength of a sealed oath, a variation of their juinjutsu for use on the Uchiha."

Sasuke looked displeased and Itachi stood very stiffly beside her, but Sasuke was the one who broke the tense atmosphere. "Fine," he said brusquely.

"Sasuke?" Itachi's voice made his name a question.

"It's none of your business, Itachi."

"Excellent," Himura declared. "We will begin preparations immediately."

It had taken two weeks for Tsunade-shishou to get around to swearing herself into office. It took them little more than two hours to arrange for Sakura's appointment as the Rokudaime. The whole of the swearing in ceremony felt more like a genjutsu than reality. Hers was a wartime appointment, so there was no grand crowd to cheer for her, just all the shinobi that could be summoned on such short notice and a representative crowd of import civilians that did not include her own. So it was, emotionally exhausted but buoyed by an extremely pleased Madara, that she visited the Hyuuga compound.

When she was left alone with Hiashi-sama in a room deep inside the compound, he offered her a fine powdered green tea and traditional sweets. Sakura was too caught up in her own misery to really enjoy them, but Hiashi lingered, taking a long draught of the tea.

"I would offer my personal congratulations, but for someone who has ascended to the office of the Hokage, you look dissatisfied," he observed.

Sakura tried to offer him a smile, but her effort fell flat. She remembered all their long visits in the past and though she could not say she felt particularly close to the Hyuuga clan leader, he was almost the only adult shinobi that ranked as a close acquaintance. Kakashi was outside the village and she wasn't certain she could take a speech from Gai without violence at the moment. So, after a long moment, she confided, "I don't think I'm qualified to be Hokage."

A raised aristocratic brow plainly stated, "Elucidate," without words.

"Most of my experience in the field is from solo missions or from mixed teams under various jounin-sensei. Only after my promotion was I put in charge of a squad of my own, but my time with them has been very brief. I'm still learning what it means to be a good captain. I'm not prepared to take on the mantle of Hokage, even temporarily."

Hiashi evaluated her thoughtfully with his white eyes, which though she knew his bloodline wasn't activated, still gave the impression of being all-seeing. Finally, he set down his cup gently. "You are not wrong," he told her with similar delicacy. "You are too young and inexperienced to manage the office of Hokage successfully."

Though he was not telling her anything she wasn't already aware of, it both felt pleasant to have her own opinion reinforced and stung for a reason she couldn't comprehend.

"Coming from a civilian clan, there will be worries that you will favor their concerns over those of the shinobi. And though you are acquainted with many clan heirs, with the exception of the Yamanaka and Hyuuga, you have had very little interactions with the clans themselves. They do not know you well enough to trust you as they did Sarutobi-sama, nor as your reputation so well established for them to accept you on blind faith, as we accepted Tsunade-sama, a kunoichi no one had heard word from in more than a decade. The most impressive part of your career remains hidden behind classification seals, with no plans in the immediate future to declassify them. And due to your preferred style, you have no legend as your former sensei, Hatake Kakashi, has built. Your very efficiency has crippled you in that arena-your entry in foreign bingo books is sparse to the point of nonexistence, though your ranking is respectable."

Sakura nodded.

"However, while these attributes make you unsuited to being Hokage, they make you the prime candidate for a mission of the sort that the Kage summit will be. If you examine this situation from that standpoint, your early training to inherit the Haruno clan, the absence of records on your abilities, and the highly effective team you have managed to cultivate despite conventional wisdom saying it was impossible-all these will work in your favor."

Light dawned and some of her misery abated, which meant that Madara's haughty pleasure flowed through her with nothing to keep it at bay. "So, don't look at it as assuming the Hokage-ship, but just as a highly specialized mission? And being appointed Hokage is nothing more than a condition of that mission," she murmured.

"Just so," Hiashi confirmed.

"Thank you, Hiashi-sama," she said, bowing with real gratitude.

His lips quirked faintly. "If that is the assistance I am called to render to my Hokage, I will be glad to offer you criticism in the future."

Sakura was startled, so much so she laughed.

"You and my nephew both display talent and maturity well beyond your age, so sometimes we adults do not offer you the support you still need. We forget, that while you are no longer children and you shoulder the responsibilities of adults, you are not adults. You do not have years of experience to rely on, nor do you have the network of resources an adult would have access to."

"I know that," Sakura acknowledged softly.

"And yet still you struggle against all odds to live up to the expectations of outsiders. However, as one of those outsiders, I do not feel guilty for doing so. Rather than break under them, you have used these expectations to give you purpose and direction. And in doing so, though you might not know it, you have been a fine captain to my nephew."

At the reminder of Neji, Sakura frowned faintly. "You are aware of his current mission?" she probed.

Hiashi inclined his head.

"I'd rather it be he I was taking to the summit, rather than Sasuke," she confessed softly.

"I am certain that Neji would return the sentiment, were he here, but he had a recent revelation that he is still coming to terms with, I believe. I hope, with this missions, he brings himself back into balance."

Though Sakura was baffled as to what sort of revelation Neji would have had of late, she nodded.

"But you did not come here only to seek advice. And our time is short. What I will be revealing to you today is an early variation of the modern juinjutsu. But first, your oath." From inside his garment, he pulled a paper, which she quickly read, then, biting her finger, applied her bloody thumbprint to. It activated the dormant seal and the design flared across the page, but before her mind could see the full pattern, Hiashi tucked it away.

"The juinjutsu you are familiar with evolved after the traditions associated with the Main and Branch house were well-established. The design you will learn is from before the Sharingan deviation, when the doujutsu and associated forms had not yet reached their peak development."

"How is it different?" Sakura asked curiously.

"There exists no juinjutsu capable of controlling someone's emotions-there is no way to guarantee that, for example, a member of the Branch House does not operate with hidden hostile intent against a member of the Main House. So I cannot offer you an assurance that the Uchiha will have no hidden motives, which, considering his clan," he murmured disdainfully, "is virtually assured. I cannot offer you many details of the function of the modern seal, as I am aware of your talents in the area. I do not believe it would be beyond you to reverse engineer the technique. What this primitive seal does is give you fine control of his motor function. It is applied at the back of the neck and controls the electrical signals that traverse the spine. You can take away, with or without pain, the function of a single arm, or leave him completely paralyzed from the neck down. This, of course, is barbaric and crude, and lacks the essential function of sealing the eyes so they cannot be stolen."

"Can I stop him from using his Sharingan?"

Madara, for the first time since entering the compound, had something to add. _Ask if fine control of his motor function implies that a user of the jutsu with talent could use it as a puppetmaster jutsu. _

Sakura's mouth moved before her brain could halt the question.

Hiashi's brow rose, but he answered her anyway. "In essence, yes, if one had a sufficient knowledge of the human body, though the more precisely one attempts to control the technique, the more likely that a determined individual might be able to throw it off. The electrical signals in the spine control all movement, after all-and stopping them and producing or redirecting them operate under the same principle. As for control of his Sharingan, you will need to develop your own contingency plan for that. I can only offer you control of his body."

-X-X-X-

Sakura took a deep, steadying breath as she entered the Uchiha district. It had been a very long time since she had walked these streets. And the last time she had entered, it hadn't been to seal one of the last remaining members of the clan.

When she reached the old main house, where Sasuke had taken up residence, the door opened before she could knock.

"Hn," Sasuke greeted her, stepping to the side.

Firming her jaw, Sakura entered, following him as he led her to a room where all the furniture had been shoved to the side. Itachi sat to one side of the room, face blank.

Turning swiftly on his heel, arms crossed across his chest, Sasuke asked, "What needs done?"

Sakura peered at him suspiciously. "Why did you agree to this, Sasuke?"

"You've never been without your chakra," he said darkly. "And my alternative is to remain safely ensconced in the village, waiting on the decision of the Council to use me as a stud horse. What would you choose, Sakura?"

"I can't guarantee that Madara won't take advantage of this," she cautioned.

Sasuke snorted. "Quit stalling."

Verdant eyes blazed at his casual attitude. "Take of your shirt and then get belly-down on the floor," she ordered. "Itachi, you can observe, but no Sharingan."

The elder murmured his agreement even as the younger moved to comply, stripping off his white shirt to reveal a torso heavily muscled by his dependence on kenjutsu. He lay down with no indication of meekness, crossing his arms beneath his chin. "What will this do?" Sasuke asked, even as she straddled his back, removing her brush and inkwell from her pouch.

She explained the jutsu briefly, half-expecting him to protest, but he only shrugged, a movement she could feel rippling through his muscles beneath her thighs. She noted a seal already on his shoulder, remembered the history behind it. "You can still use Orochimaru's curse seal?"

Sasuke grunted, which she took as an affirmative. Brushing his hair off the back of this neck, she began, the design trailing the length of his spine and almost trespassing into forbidden territory. But when she activated it and his body went rigid beneath her, she watched with fascination as the design marched upwards, to finish as a compact seal not even as large as the one on Neji's forehead. It resembled a tiny stylized tori, which made the name _Gatekeeper Seal_ fairly apt. To either side were the same kind of hooked bars that flanked the manji of the modern one, representing her ability to bar or open the gate.

Touching chilled fingers to the heated skin at the base of his neck, she attempted to convey a silent apology through her fingers. For Madara did not feel sorry at all.

A/N: Now, I have a pretty good idea at this point of what will happen to the characters by the end of this fic. However, out of curiosity, I'd like to know what you, the reader, would find emotionally fulfilling in an ending. Happy ending? Tragic ending? Somewhere in between? Epilogue? Or would you rather it be left to imagination?


	37. Storm and Moon Attend the Sun

Disclaimer: As per usual, most rights belong elsewhere, only the plot and OCs are my intellectual property. Some of the dialogue at the end comes from the manga, beginning at chapter 454.

A/N: Everyone, your reviews were absolutely wonderful. Cookies to everyone. Though they did not influence my planned ending, it was very interesting to see how people wanted this to end. But you didn't show up to read my author's note: Behold, the next chapter.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-Seven-

Storm and Moon Attend the Sun

There is a finely honed instinct in all ninja who make it past the rank of chunin that allows them in the midst of danger to accept without question certain things that in the course of everyday existence they would be dumbstruck at. Sakura had been able to sense, as she had taken her leave of the Uchiha brothers, that both were approaching the point where they would need time to confer and weigh her revelations, now that the immediate danger of Madara was past.

She did not know if time would make them question the wisdom of trusting her, but now, with the Hyuuga seal, she held Sasuke's wellbeing in her hands. Itachi could kill her, yes, if she became a threat to his brother, but if he did so, neither he nor his brother would ever be welcome in the Land of Fire again, if they even made it beyond the border. Kage-killers were hunted down with a grimness unequaled by any other mission.

The First, Second, and Third had all maintained a special team for just that purpose, one whose members had voluntarily assumed a seal that would bind them to their mission until their target was dead or they were. She had never been able to find a record of such a team under the Fourth, but Tsunade-shishou, for all her many good qualities, had been lax in certain areas. Sakura did not know if they would have been able to assemble a team to kill Orochimaru, but to not even attempt it spoke of a kind of rank absorption in their own legend as the Sannin. And, perhaps, she was still a little bit in love with her old team, with the memories they had created as they cut through the forces of their enemies, side by side.

Sakura only knew that the best opportunity to destroy Orochimaru had been while his arms were still dead and he deprived of much of his jutsu. Tsunade had hesitated and Sasuke had been lost, but it was now just part of the past.

She had very little time before she had to leave tomorrow for the summit, but many plans, which she had thought to have at least a little leisure to develop, would have to commence and fresh contingency plans put into place.

_The best war is the one over before the fighting begins, _Madara acknowledged.

Sakura smiled at his words, which might have been construed as a reinforcement of negotiation and nonviolence if they had been spoken by any other man. She could feel in her bones his real meaning: A dead enemy cannot fight a war. _I don't know that we'll be that lucky, but I will not wait, building up my defenses, until my enemy is ready to strike. I will strike while we are unprepared, because that will be when the pretender least expects it, if he is familiar with Konoha strategy at all. I will not fight a defensive war, will not allow it to become a war of attrition. I will make my first strike count and then I will hunt down any survivors. _

_The advantage is to he who strikes first, but only if you follow through without mercy. _

_ With you at my side, why would I ever have to worry about mercy? _Sakura asked him rhetorically as she quickly ascended to the rooftops, sprinting soundlessly through Konoha until she reached a distant training field. She winced as her body protested, but she knew that the only way to recovery was forward through the pain.

Sweeping the area with her senses, she bit her thumb, drawing just enough blood for the summoning jutsu. With a small cloud of sweet-scented smoke, somewhere between bubblegum and cotton candy, the smallest of the tigers appeared.

Her stripes were rainbow and cream, her fur perhaps a bit thicker, her paws childishly oversized. And she was attended by the faint ringing of a bell, a pretty one of brass, dangling from the tail that arched over her back. A pink organza ribbon, tied in a loopy bow, secured it.

Tatara Boshi gazed at her expectantly with heliotrope eyes. "Thank you for summoning a tiger, how may I direct your call?" she spoke very quickly and Sakura had had to make her repeat it twice the first time she'd encountered the diminutive tiger, who was about the size of a dog.

Sakura crouched down politely, so that Tatara didn't have to crane her head at such an angle. "I need to pass a message to Kagasuki. As follows, 'I have need, O faithful one,'" and her voice was very dry, though she managed not to wince, "'of the infernal fire you warred against for me and caught in your great seal. Your master calls upon you, Kagasuki! For we must not fail here, lest our kingdom fall.' Full stop."

Tatara twitched her tell, setting the bell to ringing. "Ringing through," she said, "One moment please while recipient answers." A pause. "Connection made, message commencing." And in about a third of the time it had taken Sakura to say it, Tatara had parroted her words. Bouncing eagerly on her paws, Sakura assumed she was receiving an answer. And, a moment later, Tatara relayed Kagasuki's reply, rendered more ridiculous than usual by being said in the voice of a twelve-years girl by a tiger who wore glitter on her eyelashes.

"O ruler, your subject hears and hurries to obey! Our kingdom shall not falter, for a ruler is the measure of a kingdom and your heart is righteous, immovable and virtuous, and your hand is strong and sure in the punishment of our enemies. Should I have to shake heaven for you, I await only your order, for to maintain your reign is to establish a kingdom of the good." Tatara tilted her head. "A scroll will be forthcoming," she added. "Please wait. It may take between fifteen and thirty seconds for your package to arrive."

As she finished speaking, a ridiculously gaudy scroll, which looked straight out of a period drama that didn't care much for accuracy, popped quietly into existence. "Thank you for waiting," Tatara informed her. "Please be aware that we do not take responsibility for any damage that may have incurred while in transit. If you have problems with your scroll, please direct all inquires directly to Kagasuki Boshi, Diviner of the Court, Upon the Holy Mountain. It may take between one to two minutes to receive a reply. Be advised to take this delay into account when planning for your battles. How else may I serve you today?"

By this point, Sakura had a developing headache from Tatara's speed of sound chatter. "Nothing else. Thank you, Tatara."

"Thank you for a summoning a tiger, Heika! Please be certain to utilize our services in your future battles!" the tiny one chirped back at her before dispelling herself.

Sakura rocked back on her heels, staring at the scroll that contained the blaze of Amaratsu. Root had been working tirelessly, tracking down sightings of Akatsuki and Madara, as well as the orange-masked stranger who claimed he was Madara. They had isolated several likely points for a base and were waiting for her word to begin a raid. For one man, no matter how powerful, could not fight a war alone. At least, that was what she had thought before Pein had descended on the village like an angry kami, but he was an exception. The pretender would need foot soldiers and he had to keep them somewhere, as none of the known rogue groups had yet been recruited for the task.

Her plan was straightforward. Her soldiers would discover his base and then release the terrible, devouring flame that belonged to the most advanced of Sharingan techniques. They would raze it all to the ground, without regard for what innocents might be in the base. Sakura treasured her people more than she treasured the abstract concept of a war without civilian casualties.

Without a quiver, her hand grasped the solid weight of the scroll. The order was as good as given.

-X-X-X-

It was full dark by the time she left the Root office, her office, and she slid the door quietly shut as she entered her childhood home. There, in the darkness of the threshold, she gathered all the courage she could muster, somehow more leery of this coming conversation with her parents than with giving an order to Root that Naruto would have hated her for.

_It's strange, _she remarked to Madara, _the things in life we find frightening. _

Madara was unsurprised, though it gave her an eerie feeling when, rather than simply a voice in her mind, she thought she almost caught the edge of red armor in her peripheral vision. Not as if a person had walked by, but as if she was wearing it. _We fear only when we hold something precious. And though you do not understand your parent's priorities, just as much as they do not understand your own, now that you are more mature, you understand that while love does not depend on commonality, a steady love seeks to find it._

_ You admire them both for traits you wish to cultivate in yourself and you admire them the more for accomplishing it all without the need for bloodshed. The Haruno clan is infamous for never having to resort to force of arms, which is in part why your mother disliked your desire to become a kunoichi. But she also loves you for your pragmatism and indomitable will, hallmarks of the Haruno clan. In return, you love her capacity for emotional manipulation, even if you don't like it turned against you, and the spy network she has been cultivating since she was a child and decided she would steal control of the family from her elder brothers. _

It had been her mother who had preached to her about how women should let men take the initiative, how they should never dirty their hands-or, she understood now, at least give the appearance of these things. Now, older and wiser, she understood why her mother had encouraged her to pursue Sasuke. Sasuke had been young, the heir of a clan, and wealthy, and because he was orphaned, his clan could not interfere in her manipulations if she had managed to sink her claws into him. It was not the kind of rosy future most mothers would plan for their daughters, any real regard for love absent, but it had been her mother's way of assuring Sakura's influence and comfort in what to her seemed a hard, dirty world.

_ And your father...even before his revelation, you admired him, as small men must admire mountains and kings. They were your pride, yet you had to discard them to pursue your path. Your teammates never knew of them, hardly even connected your name with the Haruno clan who made petty lords grovel at their feet. _

Yes, there had always been that. She had known, within an afternoon of being assigned to their team, that Naruto and Sasuke were orphans as she blundered along in her quest for Sasuke's regard. It was part of the bond her three teammates shared, one which whispered, _You cannot understand. You have a family. You do not know what it is like to be alone. _

But, perhaps, she sometimes thought, they did not know what it was like to belong to a family where love was not something a child _deserved_, it was something that must be earned. And Sakura, in her heart of hearts, did not think that attitude completely unfounded.

So she still continued to try and please her parents as best she could without neglecting her duties to her village, but it was a balancing act that by its nature must favor one or the other and she had, without exception, chosen Konohagakure.

_You are afraid they do not love you enough to grant the favor you are going to ask of them, _Madara observed.

Sakura tightened the muscles in her jaw and moved beyond the threshold. _It is necessary. I need them, because of who and what they are. _

_ But do they also need you? _

-X-X-X-

"Do I have to pack the hat?" Sakura inquired sullenly and she thought Sasuke snickered. Sparing him a glare, she said, "That outfit is an immense improvement. Did Itachi pick out your clothes for you?"

Sasuke sneered at her, but though the words had been a childish jibe, they were nonetheless true. He'd gotten rid of the heavy purple obi and the wrap over his hips and replaced his high-collared white shirt with one of a similar design in black that actually closed, but he'd only zipped it up partway, so she had a well framed view of his collarbones. He'd retained the bracers and she'd reluctantly handed over his sword. In the time she'd had it, she'd grown quite fond of it, but if they were expecting to face trouble at the Kage Summit, she needed both her guards well-equipped.

Itachi, in contrast to this study in monochrome, was wearing a sleeveless navy blue turtleneck and a sleek, pocketless black version of the jounin flak jacket. His long hair was, as usual, bound back and he was wearing his glasses openly. Though he'd stopped painting his nails when he shed the Akatsuki cloak, today a thin black strip ran horizontally across each nail, which, as her gaze was drawn to it, she realized was the point of painting them for the Uchiha. Itachi had progressed beyond the need for eye contact or handsigns to cast a genjutsu, but he still needed a focal point.

"You must pack the hat," Itachi told her. "It will be the symbol of your authority as Hokage. You should be grateful that they aren't demanding full dress regalia. That would be in line with the formality of the Land of Iron."

Sakura sighed, then sealed the hat into her scroll. With that, her packing was finished. All the orders had been given, all preparations made. There remained nothing else for her to do, except to leave for the Summit.

"We will be by your side," Itachi assured her.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked quietly. "Because neither of you will meet my eyes. I feel like _I'm _the one with Sharingan, not the other way around."

"Itachi examined my memory of the battle," Sasuke answered brusquely.

"Your Madara is..." Itachi searched for words to explain, but Sakura had plenty to lend him.

"A megalomaniac? An ancient shinobi who is the origin of the madman's dream we're preparing to go to war against, if we can't kill the man who goes by his name?"

"Strangely complete," Itachi said firmly.

Sakura blinked. "That's what I told you. That's what dissociative personality disorder means-classically, two or more people with fully developed habits, tastes, and ideas share one body. Many of the people who suffer from it are unaware, for some time, that anything more than time slippage is going on. My condition is special simply because the others cannot manifest, but _I _experience them as real people, no different than you or Sasuke."

"It's disturbing," Sasuke told her. "Unnatural."

"That would be why it's a mental _disorder_," she retorted waspishly.

"You spoke as though you thought you inherited the mental weakness from your father. Do you believe it in the nature of a kekkei genkai, passed along in a bloodline?"

"No. I meant the violence with which we react to the Sharingan was genetic. You've used the Sharingan against many enemies in the past, even the Tsukiyomi, but while it caused significant mental trauma, it never inspired this sort of reaction, did it? Like Kakashi, who was in a coma, but certainly didn't massacre anyone or develop splinter personalities."

"Did you ever ask your father how Madara did it?"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who had posed the question. "There's no conclusive evidence as to whether it was really a very old Madara or his pretender who actually did so, but he implanted a hypnotic suggestion, which made my honored father hallucinate constantly, fear and paranoia resulting from the original delusions intensifying his sense of an altered reality. My damage was projected inward, my honored father's outward. For my father, the people he murdered were only his family and retainers again at the very end of the massacre. He only hunted demons in that palace."

"The Sharingan is...capable of that?" Sasuke asked with what Sakura felt was more than healthy curiosity.

"Sharingan is an unstable mutation of the Byakugan. And it continues to mutate, which is why no two of the Mangekyo look alike. Someone's Sharingan was capable of it. But whether or not yours would be capable of it is something I would hope to never discover," she retorted repressively.

Sasuke's, "Keh," wasn't really an answer, but she had to be satisfied with it.

"You never answered me," she said instead, "If you're having doubts, I can order members of Root to accompany me. Seal or no seal, I can't afford to divide my attention between the other Kage and the two of you."

There was a tense pause, during which she almost convinced herself that they would decline accompanying her, that the offer had been a ruse to release the chakra seal on Sasuke, that they had reported her in the night, or something even worse had happened. She clamped down on the panic and paranoia before it could affect her breathing, but perhaps they could sense it, for Sasuke's hand-and she stared at it like it was doing something far more dangerous than it was-descended on her shoulder. It was a gesture made awkward by both party's discomfort and Sasuke's utter lack of experience in reassuring others. And, for once, Itachi did not attempt to help.

Sasuke sighed and his grip became almost uncomfortably tight. "I...," he seemed to collect himself and his grip relaxed, though still by no means comfortable. "I won't let him hurt you, Sakura," he ground out at last, his voice somehow edged in anger, as if he was furious at having been made to say it aloud.

She did not pointedly remind him that once upon a time, he had been so consumed by his vengeance he would have, with every appearance of enjoyment, have turned him against all of Konoha and therefore both her and Naruto. Sasuke, against every expectation she had had of him, was trying. He was not apologetic-that would have been so out of character as to be suspicious. Sasuke, in a character trait that would have been treasured if he hadn't turned it against them, committed himself absolutely to his actions.

But she also admired him for not making false apologies, which she would have done in a heartbeat. Sasuke and Naruto had always fumbled when it came to lying, Sasuke even more so than Naruto, never learning to smoothly integrate truth and fiction, to invent upon a moment's notice the proper emotion to lend credence to any story. She would not trust herself giving such a promise, but perhaps, she thought, she could trust Sasuke's intentions in this moment.

Her smile is not quite what it once would have been in response in such a commitment, but she filled it with a much warmth as her nerves will let her muster.

Itachi looked very pleased and ever so slightly smug, which Sasuke caught sight of and snatched his hand back, tips of his ears burning.

"I do not believe I need to offer such reassurances," Itachi told her with all the warmth she had been unable to give to Sasuke. "After all, you've been complaining of my nagging for days."

"I'll be glad when I'm declared suitably recovered and we don't have to have team meetings in Sai's apartment," Sakura muttered.

"What were you doing in Sai's apartment?" Sasuke asked, brows furrowed.

"Generally? Being tucked in by three overbearing teammates and eating Hyuuga Neji's cooking, even though he couldn't be bothered to feed himself properly while I was in the hospital," she sniffed.

"I thought you would've been staying with your parents."

Sakura glared narrowly at an unconcerned Itachi. "Sakura went straight from her hospital bed to her office in Root. She was lucky that Sai thought to abduct her when she summoned him."

Sasuke looked unhappy about something, but as he offered no explanations and it wasn't exactly unusual for Sasuke to be unhappy, Sakura was forced to turn her attention to pressing issues, such as the looming Summit.

-X-X-X-

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "I thought _I _was paranoid, she breathed beneath her breath."But this is ridiculous."

The Summit was being held in an enormous sunken complex, deep inside a step pyramid ringed by a number of square buildings that had seemed like nothing more than long, empty hallways when they had entered. She heard a sound of agreement from her left, which was where Sasuke was lurking, his now infamous features concealed behind a porcelain mask that bore a snake's face. Itachi had also donned his ANBU mask, so that between his tortoise aspect and the snake, she was followed by a true Genbu.

Representatives from Iron greeted them as they drew nearer to the center.

Sakura returned the greeting politely, but her eyes were focused on the door they were guarding. As it opened before her, she took a discrete breath and then walked forward, determined to not only survive this meeting, but to come out with Konohagakure not only blameless, but in a position of power.

-X-X-X-

Sasuke was fiercely aware that an attack by his team's doppelgangers on this Summit was extremely likely and he cursed the necessity of leaving Karin in Konoha. It was situations like these that justified ignoring her serious and irritating personality flaws. As it was, he kept his senses alert for anything that bore the trademarks of intrusion he might have planned.

But while is mind was thus occupied, he could not help but repress a shudder as he watched over Sakura. On the trip here, she had been Sakura as he had learned was normal, anxious and dedicated to a pursuit of perfection to a degree that was somewhat alarming, as he wasn't blind to the way she was obviously still suffering from her encounter with Madara.

Itachi had told him that Sai had once referred to her as the Spider of Konohagakure no Sato and as she sifted through partially prepared poisons he'd only heard of, he had come to believe that the moniker suited her, but now, watching her utter transformation before the doors, he could not help but remember that it wasn't only her poisons that made her dangerous.

There was no anxiety in her face or frame. She looked pleasant, relaxed, and somehow exuded the air of attending a dinner with friends rather than facing a hostile crowd. And as they entered and took the measure of the foreign Kage, just as they took their party's measure, Sasuke realized she had one advantage here that Naruto wouldn't have .

Sakura thought, not only as a shinobi, but also as a politician. That was obviously not the universal truth for all the Kage, some of whom were making their displeasure clear. And, for a few of these, Sasuke was convinced it was not a ruse meant to make the others lower their guard. Naruto believed, quite earnestly, that strangers were simply friends he hadn't met yet, but Sakura-probably from the bitter reality he had made clear to her when he had left-could be convinced of even being true allies only through prolonged effort.

Though it was clear to him that his brother's allegiance had been well and truly secured, Sakura still appeared to believe that she had to depend first on his attachment to Sasuke, rather than any personal loyalty he might hold toward herself. In a way, he felt a little sorry for her team, for while Sakura seemed to developed a great deal of competence while he was away, her insecurities, if anything, seemed to run deeper than before. Perhaps it was a symptom of her psychosis, an instinctual response to the betrayal of her mind, but it might have been a caution he had taught her.

Sakura walked purposely forward to join the others, not with arrogance nor with deference, but with a certain confidence. With nary a sound, she lay her hat on the table before her, not glancing to her right, where the redhead from Suna was gazing at her with narrowed eyes. He observed all this from the balcony the guards had been relegated to, he and Itachi positioned directly behind her, so that while he could no longer see her face, he had an excellent view of her opponents.

Sakura was seated at the midpoint of the horseshoe shaped table, furthest from the door.

On her right hand was Gaara, the Godaime Kazekage and to his right was the only other female Kage, the Godaime Mizukage, Terumi Mei. In a sloe-eyed, mature way, she was extremely attractive, but he felt she also knew that fact and used it to her advantage. To the left was a tiny, red-nosed man who could only be the Sandaime Tsuchikage, which meant the massive dark-skinned man overshadowing him to his left would be the Yondaime Raikage, the man whose brother he was supposed to have captured.

Their samurai host spoke, "You are here today because the Raikage called this meeting. My name is Mifune. I will be your moderator. The meeting will now begin."

Though Sakura was a surprise interloper, it was Gaara who took the lead. "I'll go first," he said, in that tone that was as dry and gritty as the sand that served as his primary weapon.

Onoki snorted. "The makeup of the five Kage sure has changed. Two children sitting on this council. Both of you must be something special to be Kage at your age. Your father taught you right," he told Gaara, "but apparently he forgot to instill any manners in you."

"I guess," Gaara replied without any inflection of wryness, "that's why I'm here as Kazekage."

Onoki laughed and Mei scolded him. "Tsuchikage, stop interrupting. Kazekage, please continue."

"...I'm a former host. Akatsuki captured me and nearly killed me while extracting my demon. That's why I believe Akatsuki is extremely dangerous. I requested aid from the other Kage many times, but they all ignored me...except for the former Hokage. Though, with this many hosts captured, with so many hosts captured, it's too late for aid."

"Hmph," Onoki told him disdainfully, "If a country had its jinchuriki captured, it has no business giving other countries orders! It's an embarrassment. You should have tried to recover it in secret. Once it's stolen, you can't expect other countries to help you!"

Gaara's green gaze was clear. "Appearance, honor, I don't have time for that ridiculous old-fashioned thinking."

"Just because the beasts are stolen," Mei interjected, "is no reason to be afraid. It takes time, knowledge and skill to be able to control them."

"The hosts must grow with the beasts in order to adapt to them. Even then, control is difficult and doesn't occur immediately. Right, Kazekage?" Onoki framed it like an accusation.

"Even without control," Sakura said smoothly, "the tailed beasts represent a tremendous potential for destruction. Consider this-if a tailed beast was somehow smuggled in a temporary container into a hidden village and then set loose, would Akatsuki really need to control it to destroy the village? Of course not. They could simply depend on its base instincts-destruction and a self-awareness that would make it struggle all the harder so it could not be sealed again. Our villages are all dense urban areas. Something that size means hundreds, perhaps thousands of casualties within a very short span of time, before evacuation can even be attempted. Konohagakure no Sato could testify to this. Whether or not they can control the beasts shouldn't be the issue at hand. We should concern ourselves with the fact that they already have so many of the beasts in their custody and what their eventual plan for them is."

A sound distinctly bestial came from the Raikage, who brought his fist crashing down on the table with such force that it splintered. "Quit your yappin!" he demanded.

As a body, all the guards rushed to defend their respective Kage, but Sakura held up a hand to forestall his and Itachi's approach. Melting obediently back into the shadows, Sasuke gauged that his speed was superior to any of his potential opponents. If the Raikage and his forces became a real threat to Sakura, he'd still be able to respond with time to spare.

He felt rather smug as Mifune scolded them all, "We are here to talk. Please refrain from such displays of rudeness."

The other Kage ordered their guards to stand down and they all retreated, some with visible reluctance.

"Hmph!" A didn't hide his disdain for his fellow Kage. "Konoha! Iwa! Suna! Kiri! Akatsuki is made up of missing-nin from your villages. And that's not all! I know that there are those among you, including former Kage, who have used Akatsuki for their own purposes!"

For the first time since the Summit had commenced, Gaara showed a clear emotion on his face: surprise. "Used Akatsuki?"

"I don't trust you!" The Raikage continued, "I had no intention of speaking with you. I called you all here to find out where your true loyalties lie!"

"What do you mean, "used Akatsuki"?" Gaara growled.

"You're the Kazekage, hasn't anyone told you anything? Go ask your elders. You used Akatsuki in your own war."

Gaara was stunned into silence, but Onoki eventually spoke. "The great countries are enjoying a time of relative peace. We are moving from military expansion to disarmament, for as tensions ease, the threat of war grows smaller and military villages represent a drain on a country's resources. But there is a risk. What if war breaks out? They can't rely on untested ninja in the heat of battle. They'd lose the war."

With dawning comprehension, Gaara said, "So one way of dealing with that was to use a mercenary force like Akatsuki?"

"Speaking practically," Sakura said, steepling her hands beneath her chin, "and taking into consideration the fact that at the time there was no suspicion of their current practice of collecting jinchuriki, employing Akatsuki represented an immense military advantage. Just as the Raikage pointed out, the members of Akatsuki are all missing-nin. But not any missing-nin-Akatsuki was and is composed of the strongest ninja from all the Hidden Villages."

The Raikage scowled at her, not missing her veiled insult, insinuating that it wasn't that his followers were more loyal, simply that none of them had been strong enough to merit inclusion. "On the rumors of their strength alone, battles could be won without blood being shed and should that shedding of blood become necessary, there were none more qualified to do it. Just as when a construction firm is employed to build a house, they sometimes find it necessary to hire specialized subcontractors, sometimes a village finds it expedient to do the same. There is nothing unsound about the practice," she said firmly, "for mercenaries are loyal so long as the money lasts. And say what we wish, Akatsuki had an impeccable reputation and their services came relatively cheaply."

"I don't want to hear it, Hokage," A sneered. "Suna used Akatsuki to try and destroy Konoha. It's unclear whether he was still a member of Akatsuki at the time, but both the former Kazekage and Hokage ended up dying."

"Then it would seem we came out even," Sakura retorted sharply.

"Oh? _I _can't help but think it must have been part of someone's plot. Where's Shimura Danzo? I expected him to be appointed Rokudaime, not some no-name kunoichi."

Sasuke could almost image Sakura's professional smile, just as he could hear the false secretarial sweetness clinging to her words. "Konohagakure had been experiencing some internal restructuring of late. Shimura-san is permanently indisposed, I'm afraid. And I apologize for the rudeness of not introducing myself, A-san. I am Haruno Sakura."

Apparently unimpressed, the Raikage snorted. "Kirigakure!" he accused abruptly, "You're the most suspicious. You have no diplomatic relations with other counties are there are rumors that Akatsuki was formed in Kiri."

The woman looked unhappy and her guards anxious. The reason for that anxiety became clear as she began to speak. "To tell you the truth," she began haltingly, "There were suspicions that my predecessor was being controlled by someone. It could have been the Akatsuki, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it..."

"You all...," the Raikage snarled.

"Watch your tongue, Raikage!" Onoki snapped. "It's because you were continuing to amass power and techniques during this time of disarmament that other countries were forced to hire Akatsuki in the first place!"

"What?!"

"If we came here to bring up every blood feud that's been between our villages in the past, we might as well hand over our surrender to the Akatsuki now," Sakura interrupted them cuttingly. "But if you can spare me a moment, I have some announcements to make."

"What is it?" the Raikage demanded.

Slipping a hand inside her sleeve, Sakura retrieved the necklace Sasuke was familiar with, the one on which she kept her most precious war trophies. "There are ten confirmed members of Akatsuki. Sasori of the Red Sands, Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, and the former member Orochimaru have all been...removed," she said with an unpleasant insinuation. "Soon, with or without your aid, my village will commence a hunt in order to secure the safety of our own jinchuriki. But I thought, as a consideration for all of you, I would tell you this. The man that leads Akatsuki? It's almost certainly Uchiha Madara."


	38. The Spider Hidden in the Leaves

Disclaimer: See previous thirty-seven chapters if it hasn't sunk in quite yet. Although, again, dialogue has been borrowed and adapted from the manga from ch. 458 onward.

A/N: Some people were wondering why Sakura didn't include Pein and Konan in her role of removed Akatsuki members. So I'll try to explain briefly. All the members she mentioned were removed with relatively or no loss to Konohagakure as a whole, while Pein's attack flattened the village. Sakura isn't certain how complete the reports on the attack given to the other Kage were-if they were scant or nonexistent, all would be well, but if they are aware of Konoha's current vulnerability, it would destroy her argument and the position of strength she's put herself in. Someone snide might phrase it like this: "Well, yes, you've killed some Akatsuki members, but now your village is a smoking ruin. We don't want our village to end up like that." Sakura wants to spur them into action, not make them adopt a defensive policy. But at the same time she is aware that she is surrounded by foreign and possibly hostile leaders who might want to capitalize on the disorder created by the Akatsuki to improve their own position, so any hint that Konoha is below full strength is strictly taboo.

Also, to all my reviewers, followers, and readers, you probably already know you're lovely, but thanks for all the support!

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-Eight-

The Spider Hidden in the Leaves

Sasuke's shoulders tensed with Sakura's bold announcement, the whispers of the guards overwhelmed by the mixed responses of the other Kage. He expected disbelief or some demand of proof, especially from the Raikage, who had all but accused Sakura and his fellow Kage of duplicity. To his surprise, none arose.

They seemed surprised the Madara survived, but not a single one called it impossible.

_This is the kind of awe they hold Uchiha Madara in? Even after all these years? _he thought with slight awe himself. He remembered his own experience with the man and understood it a little, but then he thought of Sakura, who if anything had seemed only disappointed. He knew she was convinced that the man behind the orange mask was nothing but a fraud, but she also seemed to intuitively know the weight that could be brought to bear on her fellow Kage by using it.

_They're all being manipulated,_ he realized, eyes widening behind the safety of his mask, _and they're all too caught up in saving face and their own petty squabbles that none of them realize it. _Even though he realized it was all in the interest of defeating Tobi, Akatsuki, and whatever forced they could bring to bear, a shiver of unease shot through him. Because though this was for a cause he recognized as "good," that was only a subjective assessment.

With her natural talent for lies (something little thought of when they were genin but useful for avoiding confessing to Kakashi the wasted days they'd spent trying to see beneath his mask), a finely honed sensitivity to the beliefs and emotions of others, and a shinobi's tactical foresight, Sakura was as dangerous with words as she was with a blade.

She simply allowed the words to settle into their minds, no diffusing her bald announcement with clarification.

The samurai mediator interjected then, smoothly using Sakura's point to make his own. "As a neutral country, I have to say that the leader of the Akatsuki chose his moment well. At this rate, even the Land of Iron might be endangered if this war spills beyond the shinobi countries. It is in everyone's best interest, then, if you would agree to cooperate until the Akatsuki is destroyed. A five-village alliance is unprecedented. Even Uchiha Madara himself wouldn't be able to stand against you."

"An alliance?" the Raikage's sneers and posturing were going beyond predictable to become irritating and he felt the muscles in his jaw work as he clenched his teeth. Glancing over at Itachi, he found no sign of tension or impatience in his body language, but neither was their interest or openness. Itachi projected only easy neutrality.

He frowned. _They...really complement each other, _he thought to himself. Itachi had once been groomed to assume control of the Uchiha clan and he'd learned after his return about the tension in Sakura's family about inheritance, but though he'd known these things, it had never occurred to him how they might be able to use this background. Sasuke, like most ninja, rarely thought about the political side of their profession.

Though they were often used as tools in a political arena for assassinations or as bodyguards, few shinobi were really interested in the inner workings of village politics, let alone the wider politics between villages if the threat of war or conflict wasn't involved. Civilian politics weren't even worth mentioning. For the first time, Sasuke experienced his first moment of doubt about the wisdom of Naruto's assumption of the Hokage-ship.

He did not doubt Naruto's strength. But that strength was expressed in his emotions as well. Whatever the blond idiot felt, whether love or hate, he felt it strongly. Sasuke felt that he was similar in some ways, though not so loud, nor was he so exhaustingly thorough in applying his emotions to every little thing he encountered.

Sakura and Itachi were different. Whatever their personal feelings, they could smother them, as if they had never existed to begin with. Itachi generally chose to adopt a stoic stance, but Sakura...Sakura was the spider poised in her grand web, plucking at the strings to see which trembled with the weight of prey.

"Oh?" Sakura responded archly. "You did call us all to a summit, A-san. If you intended to simply make accusations, surely you could have done so in a letter."

The Raikage glared at her, but Mifune interrupted again before Sakura could force an argument and back the other Kage into a corner.

"The chain of command should be uniform," he said, as if neither of them had spoken. "It would be unfortunate to confuse the soldiers because of a...personality clash during battle."

"So the question becomes who should have authority over this new army," Onoki observed. Sasuke barely suppressed a snort at the leading statement.

"You will only fight among yourselves," Mifune said sharply. "So, in respect to my position as a neutral party, I believe my position is the best to suggest a leader. The host that will be the key to victory or defeat is Konohagakure's kyuubi, so perhaps it ought to be the Hokage who leads the alliance."

"With respect, Mifune-san," Sakura said demurely, "I am aware that there will be objections to that because of my age and inexperience. And I realize much the same objections will be raised to my own suggestion, but please allow me to voice it. I will accept command only on the condition of co-leadership with the honored Kazekage."

Gaara looked plainly surprised, but it was not an expression unique to him. Whereas the first reaction to Mifune's nomination of Sakura as leader of the alliance had produced outrage, surprise was clearly the unanimous reaction to her gentle non-acceptance.

"What's she doing?" Sasuke murmured to Itachi.

"A position of supreme command in an alliance would limit her freedom of movement," Itachi replied very quietly. "It would also expose her to the scrutiny of other Kage and their criticism. Sakura must have some plan she doesn't want hindered by them, but she also wants their cooperation. If she outright turns down the command, they might interpret it as the desire of Konoha not to participate in the alliance."

Sasuke had meant his comment as a rhetorical question, but Itachi's easy insight into Sakura's mindset again confirmed to him just how deeply Itachi was resonating with his former teammate.

"No one from my village is involved in Akatsuki!" the Raikage roared, coming to his feet. "I am the only one trustworthy enough to-"

Mifune cut him off. "I do not agree." He pointed to the broken and splintered table. "If this is the manner in which you lead, the alliance might well end looking like that table. It's true that power and emotion are needed to control so many strong shinobi, but you are ruled by your emotions. This is my observation as a neutral party."

The Raikage snarled his displeasure.

"But the Hokage and the Kazekage are only kids!" Onoki protested. "And excuse me if I say this, Hokage, but no one in this room has even heard much about you."

"No offense taken, Tsuchikage-sama. To a shinobi, anonymity is a kind of compliment in itself. I understand that you might be hesitant to entrust command of your own forces to a kunoichi you know very little about, but please have confidence, if not in me, at least in the Konohagakure who has been a worthy opponent in the past."

She paused briefly, then continued. "We might be considered children, but the same complaint in reverse could be made against you with equal justice, Onoki-san. And while I do not doubt you, Mizukage-sama," she said to the other woman, meeting her eyes, "with the condition of your village as you inherited it, I doubt you could afford to purge your predecessor's supporters as thoroughly as you might have liked. To be quite frank, there are no shining heroes sitting down at this table. In all of our villages, there were shinobi who proceeded us who would have been far more suited to that role. But this is the crisis of our time, so we must face it with the weapons we possess."

"I refuse to be part of any alliance that would require my village to reveal its intentions!" the Raikage thundered.

Mei's eyes narrowed. "No one was asking you to write a manifesto, A. We'd be cooperating to crush a common enemy. At worst, you'd only be confirming information that we all already have in our bingo books."

Sasuke's attention was taken from the escalating argument by movement from the Mizukage's guards. _Byakugan...so they did manage to acquire one._ He expanded his senses, faintly able to perceive a disturbance on the very limit of his senses and only then because the chakra was familiar. A slight movement of Sakura's hand was caught by his limited peripheral vision and he relaxed. _Stand by._ He frowned slightly. _She'd already noticed. _The impression of the lurking invaders was too faint for him to be certain, for he did not have a Hyuuga's advantage, but he couldn't discern a difference between his team's chakra and the chakra of the hostiles.

If his own chakra hadn't been among them, he might almost have believed that Tobi had turned his team against him.

_Good thing, _he reflected a moment later, _that the parts thief had apparently never encountered Itachi. Not even Sakura's quick wit would be enough to explain that one before the Raikage snapped. _

Though he was focused and alert, even he was taken by surprise when a half-formed Zetsu burst from the floor like some horrific weed. As he called out a greeting and the guards flourished their weapons defensively in front of their respective Kage, he and Itachi were impatiently told through a quick handsign to remain on standby.

The furor only increased when Zetsu announced, "Uchiha Sasuke is here somewhere. The question is, where?"

Sasuke had to still his natural reaction, which leaned toward beheading the nin, when he realized that it wasn't an accusation meant to expose him.

_Did Tobi not anticipate she'd bring me? Very few Kage would bring the instigator of an international incident right in front of the person making the fuss, especially if they're as hot-headed as the Raikage. Konoha has other shinobi who'd be competent enough to act as her guard without the enormous risk of discovery. Or the flight risk I'm supposed to represent. I doubt Tobi would guess the Hyuuga would share that thrice-damned seal. I don't think Sakura quite understands that by agreeing to supply such a seal, someone as uptight as Hiashi is acknowledging he thinks of her as someone almost as close as family. _

It was almost with amused resignation that he watched the fuss that Zetsu managed to create before being killing by the Raikage.

"A-san," Sakura suddenly said when the older man had already smashed a wall as he prepared to go on his rampaging manhunt, "I have something...valuable I'd like to lend you."

"Eh? I don't need any help to deal with the Uchiha, missy," he sneered.

"Don't turn don't my offer until you've heard it out," Sakura said with even politeness. "You've heard the saying, 'Fight fire with fire?' I'm giving you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hunt an Uchiha with an Uchiha."

The Kage around the table tensed and Sasuke had a sudden realization that Sakura had not made them wear the masks to keep their identities hidden. She had only used them to control the time of their unveiling.

Catching Sakura's signal, in a coordinated movement both Uchiha brothers removed the porcelain masks, Itachi sliding on his glasses a moment later.

Terumi Mei recognized him. "Uchiha...Itachi?" she asked in a tone of astonishment, her heavy-lidded eyes finally widening.

"And Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura replied, a slight smile evident in her voice. "And I am _Haruno _Sakura. I deal only in genuine merchandise. So, what do you say, A-san? The real Uchiha Sasuke has been at my side during the time your brother was attacked. But if you like, you can pit one against the other. As a gesture of goodwill and good faith toward our alliance."

Onoki spluttered. "Both of those Uchiha were missing-nin! And one of them was a known member of Akatsuki. I thought you said he had been killed!"

"I never claimed to have killed Itachi, simply removed him as a threat. Though I did kill his partner with my own hands. Mei-san, I believe Hoshigaki-san's sword was something of a relic of your country, wasn't it? I was under the impression it could take care of itself, so I left it. As an _ally_, I would be very pleased to provide you with the location."

"This is what happens when civilians become ninja," Onoki said with disgust. "Are you trying to buy this alliance?"

Sakura laughed, all the amusement gone. "If I was trying to buy this alliance, rest assured it would be your daimyo that I would be having this meeting with. This was simply a gesture meant to reassure you of Konoha's transparency. There was no need for me to offer Hoshigaki's sword to Mei-san, nor was there a need to reveal two extremely valuable assets to this esteemed assembly."

Now she rose and Sasuke found himself naturally falling into place behind her, as if it had always been that way. And perhaps it had. Once, his childhood had been spent standing in front of her to protect her. Now he could do that best from behind, at his once-hated brother's side.

"If don't want to use them, then I also have prey to pursue. I suppose it would be appropriate to call for a recess, Mifune-san." As she swept through the door, she murmured beneath her breathe to Sasuke and Itachi, "If this was actually you, Sasuke, Tobi might leave to pursue his own agenda, but with luck he'll still be within range. Let the Raikage go play with the copies. Though I am curious as to how he managed to produce doppelgangers so identical to your team."

Sasuke shrugged, though Sakura could not see him. "We could go destroy them, if you like." Because he had no desire to be reduced to some mere pawn in Tobi's end game, even in effigy.

Sakura paused briefly, then carried on. "Let A-san's anger burn itself out in a safe place. We've safely established that you were and are under my command, so there's no further danger of him accusing this situation of being a plot of Konohagakure without looking like a fool. All the pieces are in place. We need only wait for them to desire to move." Her voice was cold, confident, something reflected in her body language. She was not like Naruto would have been, burning hot with anger for a rematch against an opponent who had once defeated her.

But neither was she cowering and hiding from an opponent who had met her best and most destructive attacks with something that approached indifference. This was the Sakura who felt most like a stranger and most like a Hokage, sharp and beautiful like a finely tempered katana. Though he could see through Itachi's stoic facade to his apprehension about allowing Sakura to re-encounter Tobi, he could not divine Sakura's thoughts at all.

_It is what it is, _that was all he could think when he looked at her upright posture, feeling the subtle flicker of her chakra as she searched for Tobi. That was the overwhelming impression. _It is what it is. _There was no fear, no anger, just sheer will and a plan that stretched intangibly forward, into a future she was determined to realize.

"Sakura, what are you planning?" Itachi asked abruptly. "If you plan to battle Tobi, wouldn't it be better to enlist the help of the other Kage?"

Sakura glanced back at them. "Itachi, for a moment, consider a Kage Summit from the perspective of someone who wants to destroy the world as we know it. It is an unprecedented chance to eliminate the leaders of all five major hidden villages in a single blow. There will never be another, more convenient opportunity. At the moment, we are all in a single place unfamiliar to all of us and we were each allowed to bring only two guards. Zetsu's surprise appearance was a little too convenient in terms of timing. As it is now, if it were to come to a battle, do you think the Kage would cooperate? Or would they allow themselves to be destroyed one by one, snapped like arrows? At least, in this case, I am endangering only myself. If I win and kill Tobi, the war will lose most of its momentum and only the stragglers will need cleaned up. If I lose...," and she half-turned again so he could see the almost cruel twist of satisfaction on her lips, "he will have assassinated a Kage right beneath their very noses. Pride alone would make them wage a war fit to shake the earth."

Itachi stopped. "You aren't going into this battle with the intention of sacrificing yourself?" he asked, voice low and dangerous. His hands clenched subtly at his sides.

Even Sasuke felt uneasy. "Don't," he advised her harshly. "If that's what you intend to do, we'll turn back this instant."

Sakura laughed boldly. "Don't be ridiculous. As if _I _would ever enter a battle with the intention of losing. Even when I worked to bring you back, Sasuke, I never stepped onto the battlefield with only the resolve to bring you home. That's why Naruto always lost to you, you know. Because he wasn't willing to go far _enough. _One must always step onto the battlefield with the certainty of victory."

Sasuke peered hard at the pink-haired woman. "Is that you or Madara speaking?" he asked at last.

She blinked at him, green eyes momentarily disappearing. The movement caught his eye and for some inane reason he noticed that her eyelashes and eyebrows were a pink two or three shades darker than her hair. "Does it matter?" she asked at last.

"Of course it matters!" Sasuke snarled.

"Sasuke," Sakura said coolly, "you did as you pleased for years. At least my idea is sound."

"But Sasuke wasn't the Hokage," Itachi reminded her none too gently. "And he never intended to die."

"But he was useless to society and to the village," Sakura retorted ruthlessly, "and that's the same as being dead. Besides, I told you both I didn't intend to die. So stop wringing your hands like nervous housewives. Itachi, you can summon crows, correct? There's not quite raptors, but even they ought to be able to spy one idiot in an orange mask." She glared at the close, geometric maze of the corridors leading into the compound. "It's a pity it would be rude to just break out of here," she said, quickening her pace and forcing them to start moving again or be abandoned by her.

"You can do it, Itachi?" she asked as they sprinted toward the exit, when his brother had failed to make a positive response.

"Sakura...the man who calls himself Tobi-"

"I know, Itachi," Sakura told his brother gently. "Which is why I won't let you face him. No one ever really ought to face a man who took away so much of their life in battle. Because hatred can destroy the rest of it."

"So you think they ought to go unpunished?" Itachi asked.

"The world never leaves anyone unpunished. Even if you live through this life with ease, karma builds up and will eventually dump you into a hell realm, where you'll be tormented until all those terrible deeds and thoughts are purged so you can be reborn in a higher plane. I fully expect Sasuke to be reborn as an animal in return for all the trouble he's caused," she taunted pertly.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, rolling his eyes.

They finally burst into dim sunlight, still startling after the dim and closed halls.

With one last glance at Sakura, Itachi bit his thumb and pressed the bleeding hand to the ground. "An Incomparable Murder," he murmured as what must have been hundreds of cawing crows burst through the summoning matrix, the sound of their wingbeats filling the air with sound as they dispersed except for one crow, larger than the rest, with gleaming red eyes.

It landed on Itachi's outstretched hand and spoke, with a husky woman's voice that put the Mizukage's to shame. "What do you need my thousand eyes to see, Itachi of the Misery Eyes?"

"I'm looking for another who bears the Sharingan," he said, lifting the bird level with his own eyes. The crow, big as a raven, cocked its head to the side and shuffled closer, as if it might pluck out his eyes.

"I see," the bird said. "Then for a hundred miles, I'll look for your target. In return, I get to strip the flesh from his bones when you've finished taking his head."

"Agreed," Itachi said curtly.

-X-X-X-

Though they were only now approaching Tobi, thanks to the guidance of the crows that now perched wherever they could find space enough, Itachi's heart had already begun to beat irregularly. Sakura's assessment was correct, but now that there was no Sasuke to rescue and seeing how she had suffered from her last battle, he never wanted to allow her to face the other Uchiha again.

But it was not his place. And, though she had almost died, his heart did not doubt that she could face even Uchiha Madara himself and win.

_When was the last time I had that kind of blind confidence in someone? _

Though he was confident that with he and Sasuke at her side, the outcome of the battle would be different than what had transpired before, he still could not shake of his uneasy foreboding.

But then they were standing in a courtyard, with the man who was their target sitting upon a low wall, the body of a dead crow held in his hand.

"Hello again, Haruno Sakura," he crooned. "This time, let's have our battle," and he was suddenly in front of her before he or Sasuke could even move, "face-to-face."

The Sharingan blazed.

A/N: Yes, short chapter, but the next one's already been written, so you'll see it soon.


	39. A Songbird Called Despair

Disclaimer: ...

A/N: Thanks to all the wonderful readers who reviewed! I'm always interested in what you have to say and this time, I loved the idea of the shipping war between Sasuke and Hiashi. That made me laugh. It also made me curious, to see who supported who. And how many of you just want Sakura to be selfish and keep them all. Ah, enough rambling. Another chapter!

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Thirty-Nine-

A Songbird Called Despair

A roar like wind or water filled her ears, deafening her-but only for a moment, until it resolved itself into the ebb and flow of a tide of blood, the march-step drum of her heartbeat. Warily, Sakura opened her eyes.

She realized immediately why her senses had failed her, though she had expected them to be only heightened with entry into the Kingdoms, built upon only the impression of her senses. Sakura hung suspended in a great glittering sea, the water golden-tinged but translucent as a gem. Her enemy was here as well, his features finally clear to her, the orange mask absent.

He bore strongly the features that were his Uchiha heritage, the fiercely elegant angles, but in a more masculine manner than her own guards, his jaw squarer, his hair cut in a more utilitarian style. Though clearly an Uchiha and even more surely a madman with pretensions of sainthood, he was remarkably average in appearance. Without the heavy scarring marred the right side of his face, and the fierce and predatory Sharingan set in the right socket, he could've easily been mistaken for a middle-class merchant, dark hair and dark eyes being common enough. Sakura had never seen the pattern in the other. He looked older than Kakashi, whose silver hair, strangely enough, bestowed on him a quasi-agelessness.

And surprise was clearly writ across his features.

Sakura examined the rest of their surroundings, startled at the evidence of her eyes. The Kingdoms had seemed impossible enough, but this invited only disbelief.

Beneath them, looming large, was a series of half-bloomed lotuses, the chains that linked them glittering darkly, continuing into infinity both above and below. In the distance, all about them, she saw a pattern endlessly repeated that resolved itself into scales, the scales patterning coils, endless huge hoops for a snake great beyond all imagining. A glance upward revealed the source of the golden light that illuminated the waters, sixteen unblinking eyes set in eight heads watching over them with all the diligence of an immortal sentinel. Understanding flooded her mind slowly.

The pretender had attempted to pull her outside her mind, perhaps into his, perhaps into a created space for the Tsukiyomi technique. And though he was not Madara, his technique must have been stronger or perhaps more brutal than Itachi's, more invasive than Sasuke's. Sakura's disorder pervaded every iota of her personality, so intertwined with her concept of herself that he'd had to attempt to draw this complex mindscape she'd created into his own and found it overwhelmed. Until he had pulled her out of herself like this, she had not realized the scope of her own creation, but feelings mingled in her breast that she imagined would not have been alien to a kami. But they did, in their way, make her feel alienated from her humanity, for it was one thing to build a memory palace as an exercise in mental discipline, another to create five separate worlds and five separate entities to populate them.

"What is this?" the man hissed and though there was the illusion of space between them, they might well have been standing three feet from each other.

"This is my 'self'," Sakura told him, the words resonating strangely, echoing inside her head. "Though it would seem you have made it our battleground."

She watched as he took in their surroundings more fully, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the Orochi. "It would seem," he said at last, "that we will fight in an environment not unlike the beginning of the world, then. And I will be the one to bring your world to its inevitable conclusion." He made as if to attack, but when he reached for his chakra, a force like gravity in its execution but a thousand-fold stronger sent them hurtling toward the first lotus, which seemed to open slightly to allow them entrance.

She landed hard on the stone platform where she had played so many games in her past, her knees bent to absorb the shock. And the man landed across from her, the game table between them. The pillars that surrounded the courtyard were not empty: dead and defeated Akatsuki littered one side, and Tsunade-wrapped in chains as if they were a cocoon-bore pride of place upon the other. Her body, as if it belonged to a stranger, smiled at the Uchiha.

Snakes from the pool of blood beneath her feet burst upwards, thousands upon thousands, until they covered her body. For every inch covered by their scales, she felt less and less like the body was her own, until something _gave _and she found herself staring down at the battlefield, watching the body she had so recently occupied as the tiny serpents fell away to reveal an all together more dangerous snake.

-X-X-X-

Obito had fought the konoichi before, so he had predicted she was going to be difficult. It had been a long time since he had felt the sensation in his chest: doubt of his certain victory. Not since he had been training under Madara had he felt such uncertainty. His mastery of the Sharingan allowed him to warp space as easily as most people breathed, making him near invulnerable. Fighting the Haruno had reminded him of his master's severe words when he'd grown over-confident in his skills. _There is no such thing as invulnerability. It simply becomes a matter of how much your enemy is willing to sacrifice to destroy you. Anything can happen in a battle, Obito-experience, talent, preparation, all these things can aid you, but they are not absolute. Jounin are killed by gennin, legends by foot soldiers. All it takes is one mistake. _

It was eerie, how shades of his master haunted him when he faced the girl who couldn't have been further from him in appearance. Though less skilled and far less experienced, there was something in the way she moved and spoke that had reminded him of Uchiha Madara. And she'd shocked even her allies-including poor Itachi, whom Obito had been almost certain had been dead-when she'd announced that he wasn't Madara with an expression that looked as if he'd broken her heart.

Her responses had been peculiar, her resistance troubling, but this _world_ was beyond all imagination. It was his role to unsettle, to surprise, to astonish, but in all the time he had had use of his Sharingan, or even the Rinnegan, he had never experienced anything like this madness.

It was a magnificent dreamscape, an incredible hallucination, but it had all the solidity that belief could inspire within the mind. Here, the only the reality was what the girl's mind provided, her dominance here overwhelming.

But it appeared it would not be so simple as facing down one pink-haired kunoichi who had not even reached her majority. Laughing, cruel eye's with serpentine pupils met his with casual ease.

"What is this?" he asked, smoothing out his tone.

Pale lips twisted upwards in a smirk. "It's just as it looks like, Uchiha. Though that isn't a particularly neighborly way to refer to you. Tobi-kun, wasn't it? Unless you'd prefer to be addressed by your real name?"

"You are supposed to be Orochimaru, undoubtedly. As one of the Sannin, I thought you would have recognized me. When you were a child, I was still part of the village."

A dark chuckle, a _ku ku ku _of sound, grated against his nerves. "Dear boy," the snake replied, "not even Sakura-chan believes that you are Uchiha Madara and she was born long after his final battle."

Obito ignored him. "Why did you choose to assume the guise of the man who murdered your Hokage, kunoichi? What advantage do you hope to gain? Or do you simply fear me so much you won't face me as yourself?"

"I believe, Tobi-kun, that you are having a fundamental misunderstanding. I _am _Orochimaru, far more legitimately than you can claim to be Uchiha Madara."

Obito was silent for a moment as he took in this claim and sneered. If this was genjutsu, he was unable to break it, which led him to believe that the figure he saw in front of him was as he appeared. If it was a henge, it was thorough, but he could imagine no advantage conferred upon the Haruno by simply appearing to be Orochimaru. Perhaps she had learned some of the infamous shinobi's techniques, but wearing his form surely wouldn't increase the likelihood of her attacks actually hitting him.

Something was very peculiar here.

"Would you like to play a game?" Orochimaru invited him, indicating the board on the table with a wave of his hand, as if it were a chess set on a kitchen table, not the gruesome monstrosity that looked to have been crafted from starved human beings.

All was clearly not well with Haruno Sakura, if this was the product of her deranged imagination.

"Or, perhaps," Orochimaru suggested, "someone else taught you to play games long ago, Tobi-kun? Just as I taught Sakura-chan?"

"And what, exactly, did Haruno learn from you?" Obito asked dispassionately, deciding that he could live on without his curiosity being satisfied. The solution to this problem was quite simple. He would simply destroy this little dimensional pocket, though it seemed he would have to do so manually, piece by piece.

"What any person might learn from games, if they are not a half-wit. How and whom to sacrifice to achieve victory. Which pieces must be preserved for the endgame, which it is pointless to grow attached to, how to exploit and predict your opponent. And the ultimate goal, which must always remain foremost in your mind. The ultimate and total annihilation of your enemy. That sort of thing. " He made a careless gesture with his hand. "But you know that already. Its why you are here, isn't it, Tobi-kun? Our destruction." A predatory smile twisted sallow lips. "In that case, welcome to my kingdom."

And then he was moving, the movement of his body somehow wrong, as if he was boneless, quick and sharp and offensive, and Obito was forced to phase or be destroyed by the familiar sword held in a firm grip by his tongue, his whole body elongating and twisting in unexpected and unpredictable ways.

_This is what total mastery over the body means, _Obito thought grimly, then he was startled by his own train of thought. _I'm being deceived. If I believe that this man is Orochimaru, its possible my own belief might kill me here. _

Evaluating his opponent as he slipped on the chains that would allow him to ensnare the snake, he faded from the dimension again as Orochimaru reversed his strike more quickly than anyone he had ever faced with the exception of his master. A gasp of pain escaped him as the sword, rather than simply passing through his body as it ought to have, sunk deep into his shoulder.

Again that sinister, irritating _ku ku ku _of sound. How he spoke with his tongue wielding a sword was a mystery, but his words were clear. "Did you forget which of the treasures was mine?"

Obito grimaced and wrenched himself away before Orochimaru could twist the sword and totally disable his shoulder. _This taunting is just like the old snake as well, _he thought with perverse satisfaction. _The Third always did tell him it would be the death of him. _A fierce smile spread across his face as the battle began in earnest, each combatant moving too fast for rational thought, long practice and finely honed instincts serving their purpose as Obito struggled to react to Orochimaru's body manipulation, which was beyond anything he had ever seen practiced.

And he was quick, with a dexterity that belied such forces as physics, chakra allowing him to manipulate his body in ways that would have been impossible with muscle strength alone. Orochimaru avoided the barrage of the Phoenix Flower and smiled tauntingly at him. "Come now, Tobi-kun. Is that really the extent of your ability? Is this really all it takes to be Uchiha Madara? If so, I must confess myself disappointed. You couldn't kill even one Senju with this power, let alone battle the greatest of them."

The taunt stung, because they were an echo of what his master had once told him. _Is this all, Obito? Do you think you can ever hope to even live up to the name of Uchiha with your current level of power? If this is the extent of your ability, then return to being one of the dead. I have no use for someone so utterly without talent. _

Many years had passed since Madara's death, but Obito had never forgotten his ruthless personality. But he had to be grateful to him, for almost literally beating into him the skills he had never learned under the Fourth. Part of him had hoped that he would be able to turn away at the last moment, to return to Konohagakure, finally more talented, more prepared, more _worthy _than Kakashi.

And then Kakashi, the silver haired bastard who had never struggled in his life, who had almost gotten them all killed, had had the audacity to kill _Rin. _Pretty, kind, perfect Rin, who had faithfully waited for Kakashi to develop into less of an asshole and he'd killed her. His hand, with that damnable Chidori blazing and wailing, had slid through her chest like it was paper, and though her face had been paralyzed with fear, pain, and confusion, there had been nothing but intent in Kakashi's expression. And his Sharingan, his borrowed, _stolen _Sharingan had been redder than Rin's blood.

That was when Obito began to understand. There was something wrong with the world. Something so wrong that it could not be fixed through mere human effort. Kakashi had lived on, unpunished, after killing Rin. He'd stolen so many jutsu with his Sharingan that it began to be whispered that he had a truer mastery of it than Uchiha born to it. Obito knew that to be truth, because Kakashi was a genius, a prodigy, an anomaly. He was poised on the edge of greatness, but was never able to take that final step into immortality. Kakashi had only created one original attack in his life. And he'd used it to kill his friend. His teammate.

He's misused his talent. And Obito, who had never quite fit in among the sleek predators and natural powerhouses of the Uchiha clan, by sheer force of will alone, had risen to the place where he could call himself Uchiha Madara and have the whole world believe it. Even Kakashi. Even Itachi. The apex shinobi of two generations.

Only to be disbelieved by one pink-haired little girl. A girl whom he'd known of by report as weak, passive, dead weight on her team. Except when he'd met her, she hadn't been any of those things. _You and I are alike, _she had said, face framed by fierce dark hair, clad in ANBU armor, the elite of the elite. The Uchiha. The Hyuga. Root ANBU. They'd stood at her back, followed her orders, left her alone to face him, as if they believed that even against Uchiha Madara she had a chance.

It was foolishness to the point of being unbelievable. But most perplexing had been her eyes, when she had fought him. Heartbreak was written clearly in them. _You're not Madara. _It hadn't been said with joy or relief. It was as if he'd told her that a loved one, long missing but still much hoped for, had died.

He barely avoided the blow of his opponent, Kusanagi whistling past his ear. "Now isn't the time to be lost in thought," the snake hissed. "Mental preparation is completed before the game is set, before you step foot on the battlefield. Here, you exist in the moment or you cease to exist at all."

"Save your breathe," Obito advised coldly, "and your advice for someone that needs it." Using the Sharingan in its capacity to predict the movement of an enemy by almost invisible tensing of the muscles before they began to move in earnest, he focused on Orochimaru's body, ignoring his extended neck and tongue. Those would seem to be points of vulnerability, but that was an impression that one might not long survive. Using the Mangekyo again, he phased deep within the striking range of the ninja's sword, smirking as his chain settled around the base of his neck, spinning in midair after touching the ground only briefly to settle his leash tightly, then in a single smooth movement, beheaded the creature.

Which, given the shape and size of a kunai, was something of an acquired skill.

But his satisfaction was short-lived, for rather than blood, small white snakes began wiggling from the corpse's flesh, pouring out like maggots from a two-week gone deer. Splashing into the pooled blood, the surface began to froth.

"Damn!" Obito swore, leaping backward as an enormous white snake burst from the surface. He briefly considered continuing the battle in the courtyard, but given Orochimaru's unnatural dexterity, which he did not doubt transitioned quite nicely to his snake form, there was no advantage for him to remain among the iron pillars that would normally present an advantage to him.

Retreating briefly, he was astounded to find that the courtyard rested at the top of what appeared to be a very large step pyramid, with architecturally anomalous iron pillars jutting out and towering into a dark sky lit with red stars in defiance of real-world physics. Expecting firm ground at the bottom, he cursed again as his footing faltered slightly as the ground shifted. _What the-? _

Haruno Sakura was obviously in need of serious therapy. In fact, the ninja who had been in charge of her psych evaluations should have his pay permanently docked and be forced to relearn his practice from the ground up, because overlooking such an intricate, complex, expansive delusion was akin to overlooking an elephant in the tearoom.

_Unless, _he realized, _she had hidden it herself. _

As the huge snake descended from its temple, he could only think, _What kind of monster did you raise, Kakashi? _

No longer willing to conserve chakra, for he was beginning to recall the legendary regenerative capability of snakes, he turned to the weapon he was certain could defeat Orochimaru in his present form, which was too large to avoid it completely, no matter his agility.

Warm liquid trickled down his cheek as he called on the dark power inherent in his eyes. _Amaterasu. _Black flame hissed and crackled merrily as it was unleashed, quickly blossoming into a blazing inferno that set the mindscape alight and devoured the snake. But even as it burned, that unnerving chuckle echoed above the roar of the fire. "What happens, Tobi-kun, when you meet something you fear but cannot destroy?"

Like a star map, the heavens above began to turn, the red stars falling from the sky as the world beneath burned. A howl split the night as a fierce wind shrieked through the branches of dead trees, smashing him almost flat to the bone-filled ground.

Phasing from reality, he found himself falling, watching from below as the lotus above blackened, its petals falling into the golden natal waters that surrounded them, the sixteen eyes above watching on impassively as he tumbled into the flower below.

He landed hard on sand so fine it was almost dust, making it difficult to breathe as it filled the air in a kind of choking fog. Cursing the pink-haired girl, his eyes searched the barren landscape for an opponent or at the very least a weakness in the mindscape. The latter was absent, but it was hard to miss the former, as the desert rolled on in a chilling, near colorless expanse, punctuating only occasionally by chains crossing at strange angles, akin to the chains that held the four lotuses together and continued into the darkness below.

This opponent was young and a stranger to him. There was no malevolent chakra, no killing intent. Just the slim, androgynous youth.

"Hello, Tobi-san," the stranger greeted him politely, his voice clear and sweet though male. "I don't suppose you would be willing to remove yourself from Sakura-san's mind?"

"If I could remove myself from this hellish mindscape to crush the kunoichi in reality, it would be my very great pleasure," Obito retorted, slightly put off by the unusually polite approach of this stranger.

"My name is Haku," he introduced himself, then fell silent, waiting for Obito's reaction.

Which was to sneer. "Not going to produce some sort of life-changing lesson? No advice to offer?"

A thin brow rose. "Not at all, Tobi-san." He spread his hands. "I am less...assertive than Orochimaru and the others."

Obito attempted to surge forward and kill the boy, but it was like running through quicksand that did not respond to chakra manipulation.

"Ah," Haku cautioned, "Be careful. You're struggling against the nature of the kingdom. You might hurt yourself, Tobi-san."

Sparing the boy an incredulous glance, Obito studied the sand that had swallowed him up to his ankles and refused to respond to his chakra. "Explain," he demanded, "this 'nature of the kingdom'."

Haku blinked, then smiled softly at him. "Crippling inaction is the result of despair, is it not? Welcome, Tobi-san, to the Wastes."

Surprise blanked his mind for a moment. _This place...she's even given it a name? This goes beyond a personality disorder. If this...if this is a genjutsu or a memory palace, it's of a magnitude explainable only by kekkei genkai, structured like a quest from an old romance. A different lesson, a different gatekeeper in each of them. But the lessons are a little...skewed. The old tales and the ones Jiraiya wrote, before Minato's death, they taught a person how to become a hero. But this...this is something different entirely. _

Was it possible to simply burn his way out of this dimensional pocket, if that was what it was? Or would he die, trapped among his own flames?

Gritting his teeth, Obito resigned himself to the fact that there were three further thresholds to cross, swearing to himself to make the Haruno girl's death memorable once he managed to escape. Not prolonged, but memorable. He had already miscalculated by attempting to demoralize her companions by destroying the mind of their leader, leaving her body a hollow shell.

He would not allow her existence to persist once he returned to reality.

Obito frowned as he recalled the way the kunoichi had been absorbed by Orochimaru. Was it possible she had already returned to reality? Was she even now destroying the plans he had made with such care? Or was she even more trapped within these worlds than he was?

While he had been contemplating, Haku had made no move of aggression toward him, instead looking on with benign indifference.

"If I manage to pass through all four of the lotuses, will I be able to escape?" he asked grudgingly.

"Proceeding through all of the lotuses will bring you to the end," Haku replied. "It will give you the opportunity to confront Sakura. And if you triumph against her, I suppose you will be free. No matter the outcome, freedom lies at the end of the path." He tilted his head, dark hair sliding across his shoulders. "But I can see that you won't be free, no matter where you go. Because you're still trapped in your own despair, aren't you, Obito-san?"

"What did you say?" Obito demanded. "What did you call me?"

"Ah, do you not like that name?" Haku inquired. "It sets on top of your mind, like a red maple leave atop a still pond. It's your name, isn't it? The name of your cowardly, terrified self."

"What..?"

Haku explained it patiently, like one would to a child. "This is the place where thoughts are reality. You are now part of it, because you have used your abilities and changed the world by destroying Orochimaru. So now your fears, your desires, and your dreams are made plain to the denizens of the kingdoms." He eyed Obito askance. "Threshold guardian is too simplistic, Obito-san. We simply exist within these limited worlds as fully realized persons in our own right. It is Sakura who tests herself. Within this world, we are not your greatest enemy. You are. Just as you always have been."

"You know, perhaps Haruno enjoys these pseudo-philosophical lectures," Obito growled, temper finally roused, "but I've reached my limit." Hands racing through the signs, Obito inhaled, feeling the familiar fire nature of his chakra race to catalyze the reaction that would allow him to create fire. Fire was primordial strength, the power most closely linked to Amaterasu, but also the element that brought death into the world when Izanami gave birth to the elements.

It was also the element of dissatisfaction, the element that was always _hungry. _It suited the Uchiha perfectly, with their endless ambition that had been the cause of so much destruction. So it was with disdain he wielded it, with a precision and flair that would have aroused envy among his family members.

There was the barest touch of warmth against his lips, like a chaste kiss, a fierce contrast to the twisted construct of fire that blazed through the desert like a whirlwind, churning up the sand and turning it into glistening glass slag.

Haku did not seem to move, except one hand raised in a peculiar sign, one with which Obito was unfamiliar. And those sad, slightly disappointed eyes never left his as the ninja seemed to _fuse _with the glass. His attack had splayed molten sand into sharply curving spikes, like clawed fingers or flower petals and they littered the landscape, cloudy and dull.

Obito smashed the spike of glass with a spinning kick, fragments flying about in a most satisfactory manner. And then he sensed a rush of senbon from behind and whirled out of their path, several snagging on his cloak but leaving him otherwise unharmed. Just as his feet touched sandy earth, there was another attack, this time from nearly the opposite direction, followed up almost immediately by an attack from 40 degrees to his right while he was still in the air.

_Dimensional pockets? _he thought with bewilderment. _Or just one dimensional pocket linked to the reflective surfaces? _For, from the corner of his Sharingan-lit eyes, he could see his opponent so briefly it seemed almost an illusion in itself before the attack came. The attacks grew more furious until it no longer became a matter of speed, it became an issue of space. Fortunately, Obito was well equipped to meet the challenge, but his inability to return to the battlefield reminded him infuriatingly of his earlier battle with Sakura, where she had utilized much the same tactic.

However, Haku had no shortage of weaponry nor chakra and his attacks didn't represent the same double-edged sword as Haruno's toxin cocktail.

Gritting his teeth, Obito flared into existence just long enough to shatter several more of the spires, pressing his speed to the limits of his ability, avoiding all but inconsequential damage. Systematically he continued his destruction, each reappearance becoming easier as the potential for attack became limited.

It was taxing to use the Mangekyo Sharingan in such a manner and perhaps more taxing on the body so used, as spanning dimensions put stress his body at the molecular level as they were forcibly attuned to a different vibration rate. Without unparalleled control, even an Uchiha might simply cease to exist in a physical form, being reduced to a chakra entity by constant absence from reality and contact with natural chakra.

So Obito was breathing heavily as he coalesced before the very last spire, in which Haku stood, regarding him without panic. "I'm going to kill you," Obito snarled.

Haku smiled gently. "I've been dead for a long time. I was only ever a memory. Don't hurt yourself trying too hard, Obito-san. You lack anything to protecct, so your dreams can only collapse around you."

And then he vanished into dust, the desert beginning to tremble, like the hide of a great beast trying to shrug off a fly. The fine chains in the sky shrieked as they were made to bear pressure greater than they could withstand, giving way with the sound of shearing metal. Like wet sand breaking through paper, he found himself falling once again, descending more deeply into the belly of the beast.

He was prepared this time for a difficult landing, but the lush grass beneath his feet absorbed the impact, swaying gently around his ankles. Scanning his environment, he found himself in a world unlike any he'd ever seen. The three waking seasons were abundantly represented as he found trees burdened with the perfumed flowers of later spring, donning the lush greenery of summer, and wearing the festival garments of autumn, flowers blooming so thickly that green could no longer be safely called the predominate color of the landscape.

"Hn," the thoughtful sound make him pivot to face a enemy, but when he caught sight of his opponent, he froze for a moment, mind going blank.

The voice was deeper than he remembered, smooth and sharp, but recognizable. "So this is the face of an inferior Uchiha," Madara said, "I see the blood of the clan weakened quickly. It seems pointless to waste time on pleasantries."

Obito stiffened, then slid into a combat stance.

Madara snorted. "Fool. As if you could actually defeat me. But I will be generous and pave the way to your inevitable realization."

"And what realization is that?" Obito asked warily.

Sharingan-red eyes with a Mangekyo pattern familiar and much feared turned on him and he could almost feel the blood in his veins turning to sludge. "That inferior weapons will break in the face of well-tempered steel. You don't desire world peace because you _care _about humanity," he sneered. "You simply cannot accept your own reality. You believe the universe is unfair, that something called _fate _reached out and snatched away things you loved, like a cruel parent from a bewildered child. Fate, chance, design, all of this is _irrelevant. _The universe owes you _nothing_. You will only ever be assured of what you can keep with your own two hands, whether by force or cunning. You had neither, Obito, and blamed the world for your weakness. But, you see, the world devours the weak."

Upon the word devour, flame suddenly swept over the garden, so quickly that it was like watching lightning, the roar that usually heralded its coming tarrying behind. The ground shook and two great beasts rose up, making a clamor that almost drowned out Madara's next words, the great tails of the fox sweeping down trees, the death throes of the ram splintering the earth.

"What are you-?" he gasped, lungs barely sparing the oxygen.

"I am with Sakura, always," Madara replied in ominous promise, fading away into cherry blossoms that were soon consumed by the fire he himself had set.

Obito fell through the sky, still bewildered by his encounter with the kunoichi's incarnation of his late master, landing knee deep in brackish water before he could correct his chakra. Struggling out of the water, he surveyed his surroundings warily. The light quality was uncertain, peculiar in ways that couldn't be explained by the trees, odd shadows cast at queer angles. All about him, tall trees with twisted knees raised above the water grew wide and imposing, seemingly endless. Spinning on one heel, he searched for his opponent.

"Who's there?" he challenged.

"Over here," a dark voice invited. Obito forced Sharingan into his eyes so he could peer through the gloom, where a man was standing with his back to him, hands held loosely behind him. It was not a stance a shinobi would adopt before an opponent he felt anything less than confident of destroying. He half turned his head, revealing a handsome face partially framed by black bangs and narrow, intense eyes. "Well, aren't you coming?" he challenged. "Or are you going to run away again, Obito? You were always running away. A stain on the Uchiha name, who couldn't even develop Sharingan properly."

"Who-?" Obito asked carefully.

The ninja turned to face him, wearing dark clothes and an equally dark breastplate. He almost didn't recognize him for a moment but for the distinctive scar on his chin. "Danzo," Obito growled.

"It would appear you still haven't changed. Take away the mask, the mystery, and the guise of being Uchiha Madara and you're still the same frightened little genin who can't make peace with killing," Danzo said with a sneer. "Did you have to beg Madara to let you through?"

"Madara is dead! And so are you! You've already died once by my hand. I'll kill you as many times as it takes!" Obito howled, rushing forward, only to find his opponent to his left.

Danzo chuckled. "You think you can? Haven't you noticed? You can barely control your emotions, let alone kill _me. _The Kingdoms are stripping you away, layer by layer. You are not pitting your _skills _against Sakura. You are pitting your soul against hers. And I," he paused meaningfully, "would wager my existence that you will find it is you who are inferior."

Obito flung a volley of shuriken at him, peering hard with his Sharingan to divine his movements. But there was no foreshadowing of movement, no flexing of muscles. He existed, well in the path of the deadly projectiles, and then he did not.

"Struggle if you desire," Danzo goaded him, "but it will not change anything. Your Rinnegan is useless here. And your Sharingan-well," he said with satisfaction, "You will discover that as well."

Obito attempted a teleportation technique, but something felt skewed and he found himself further than ever from Danzo. "I killed you!" he repeated.

Danzo raised a thin, mocking brow. "Only in one reality. In a thousand splinter realities, I triumphed and fed you to the crows. You're becoming entangled with this mindscape," he said with satisfaction. "It's become more 'real' to you, hasn't it? Although I suppose it is aided in part by the fact that I am composed at least in part by an impression of the memories of the Shimura Danzo you killed and remnants of his chakra. When he was alive, he poured his mentality into Sakura and when he was dead, he gave her part of his memories, so that he might live on. His work was unfinished. He couldn't rest at ease. Danzo showed Sakura total suffering of both body and spirit-that's the foundation that this kingdom is built upon."

His fingers dancing through the handsigns, Obito poured his chakra into a fire jutsu that burned hot blue, blazing around him as he attempted to envelop the whole swamp in an inferno.

"Hmph." The noise came from right behind him and he barely ducked in time to avoid the blow, flipping out of the way. Glaring at his antagonist, he found Danzo still had one hand behind his back, the other only loosely grasping a kunai. And the fire had dissipated, not even scorching the trees. "I am not like Madara. I will not step aside so that you can perceive your own destruction. Because, unlike him, I do not think you capable of learning something so difficult."

Another attack, this one a flurry of shuriken, was once again deflected without any movement that his Sharingan could detect.

"If you could see beyond this battle, you would not be in such a rush to end it," Danzo advised.

"Oh?" Obito sneered, thinking furiously. In his original battle with Danzo, the man had possessed cannibalized Sharingan, but each had a finite lifespan and had been prominently displayed within his arm. But this Danzo was far younger, his eyes still matched, his arm unblemished by the knotty lumps of flesh that had revealed themselves as eyes.

Despite the evidence against it, it seemed that even without Sharingan, Danzo retained not only the power of the eyes he had stolen, but the advanced abilities of the Mangekyo. Or, more specifically, the abilities associated with his own eyes.

"Still thinking, Obito? If this were a real battle, you would be dead by now."

"I thought you weren't going to stand to the side," Obito snarled, for once at a loss. It was rare for Mangekyo to face Mangekyo in battle, almost unprecedented, in fact. It would be one thing to counteract offensive moves, but this ability was subtle. It wasn't deflecting his attacks, precisely, because it was Danzo who simply reappeared elsewhere. If he did not know better, he would believe it to be an immersive genjutsu that affected his perception of space in response to each of his attacks.

It was too unlike his own technique for him to understand the mechanics of it, but pride and experience told him there existed no genjutsu he could not break. And he could not break this one.

So he was forced to accept that Danzo was somehow actually changing his location in space, without a time lapse, moving unseen in a separate dimension or perhaps folding this one. It was mind boggling and should have been impossible.

"Why shouldn't I want to proceed?" he said at last, to buy time as he designed a solution to the quandary he had been presented.

Danzo smiled, which was an eerie and unexpected sight. And then he laughed, which was more shocking still, as Obito remembered him best as the dour, twisted old warhawk that had been driven half-mad with disappointment. "Do you know what I stamp out first in a Root candidate? It's not love, pity, or compassion. It's aggression. The fundamental driving force of the human animal. When you strip everything else away, aggression will remain, turning a person into nothing more than a rabid dog. And rabid dogs are useless as soldiers. You can't destroy it, of course, but you can alienate them from it. Cut off their desire."

"And how does this relate to proceeding through this world?"

"Imagine, then, meeting a distilled incarnation of that inclination for violence. That deep-seated need that ignores all social convention, the rights of others, and at times even the overriding voice of reason. The part of us that reaches out and _takes_. It would be quite frightening, wouldn't it? Especially if you confronted it in yourself. But," and his look was sly, "you would know very little about confronting _yourself_. A dead man, cowering behind a dead man's name, that's a life form not much higher than a worm."

With an inarticulate cry of rage, Obito threw himself forward, Sharingan bleeding black blood as he called upon a fire so unnatural it consumed light.

As the reaching flames drew near to Danzo, the knotted trunk of a nearby tree shifted, opening to expose a Sharingan eye longer than Obito's forearm, tilted up on its side. When his attack breached its immediate area, the eye began to ooze black blood like discolored sap and a jet of black fire changed the course of his own flames.

"What-?" Obito hissed.

Danzo pressed a palm fondly against the smooth bark of the nearest cypress. "Their hearts might be black and twisted, but all these trees belong to the great tree. And you stand outside its protection."

"The great tree-?" Inspiration descended and Obito closed his own eyes, seeking within the chaotic environment for a tree greater than any other, which he knew would be the point upon which this world hinged. A tree with deep, deep roots.

In reality, it would have been possible, for every creature, no matter how small, had some measure of chakra. Only truly inanimate objects did not, but even they could hold and store vestiges of it from contact with animate objects.

As it was, all he could sense was a discordant jangle, many layers deep and twisted in on itself, as if the evidence of his eyes that they stood on a flat, swampy plain was a lie.

"Looking for the tree?" Danzo's voice came right next to his ear and Obito was unable to totally avoid the kunai strike that drove the blade deep into his shoulder, striking off the bone of the socket but luckily not dislocating the shoulder. Even better for him, it was the shoulder already weakened by Orochimaru, so while it made this battle more difficult, it did not make it impossible.

Obito retreated, trying to gain space to remove the kunai from his shoulder, but Danzo pursued him, flickering into being beside trees, snapping off twigs from low-hanging branches that turned into kunai that he flung with deadly intent.

Gritting his teeth, Obito summoned the Sharingan's ultimate defense, the Susanoo technique. Danzo's kunai would have been laughable in any situation less dire, but as the construct brought its sword crashing down and found itself met with three others from trees suddenly alive with blue light, boasting their own skeletal defenders, he knew he needed to end the fight quickly.

But he seemed out of options, his failsafe techniques thwarted. He had no jutsu that could equal the intensity of the flames of Amaterasu, none that could produce the sheer might of the technique that took its name from the kami of storms. The foliage around him was too dense to peer through, the trees his enemy, which precluded scaling them to locate his target.

His whole being resounded with the thought, _This is impossible. _Unvoiced came the complaints. _Unfair. It's unfair! If only I had the power of the ten-tails, I would never allow something like this to exist._

Danzo's assault paused, an expression of disgust crossing his face. "You think this is unfair, simply because you're losing this battle? Rather than fighting to the bitter end with iron will or retreating with the intention of regrouping, this is your course of action? Wishing for the power of a god, so that you can make reality conform to your own selfish dreams? Recognize that this is a disparity of power and skill and die with grace. You've already shamed this contest, coward." All about them, in the gnarled trunks and wide branches, gleaming eyes opened, pupils with swirling tomoe focusing and evolving into the fantastic variations of Mangekyo.

It took a moment to register in Obito's mind what happened next. Impalement is always somewhat shocking, but full disarticulation while still being capable of thought must have been unusual. But pain was short, swift, sharp and then nonexistent, before he found himself falling again, staring blankly at the quickly wilting lotus. _Oh_, his mind realized, processing the fact that this would be the second time he had died, Madara not simply bowing out, but killing him to send him further into the kingdoms, so swift and brutal it was logic rather than pain that told him what had occurred.

From this angle, he could see the braided chains, inscribed with complex characters, that pierced through the four lotuses, continuing upward to the Orochi and below into the darkness.

It was almost a reflexive moment, summoning Susanoo and destroying the eight-headed snake, his mind and body numb. _Should have done this from the start, _he thought with grim satisfaction as their crimson blood tainted the water, not noticing how it flowed into the engraving on the chains until there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

A roar of primal satisfaction stopped his heart for a single beat and it was with trepidation that he gazed into the dark ocean below. He could see now a gargantuan figure, its hands pulled far above its head, entangled in the chains, which from that point radiated wildly, piercing its body and the wings that made the water itself tremble as it shook them.

A chorus of screams, the melody of a mass genocide, coincided with the breaking of the chains and the terrible figure was level with him in with a single flap of the black-feathered appendages that suddenly dominated his whole field of view.

It looked like the kunoichi, long pink hair gone wild, her mouth full of teeth that could rend steel. Obito too knew his mythology. The ferocious offspring of Susanoo, Amanozako.

-X-X-X-

Sakura had been aware, as if of a dream dimly remembered, of the battle between Obito and each of her others selves. She knew the instant Madara perished, feeling him as a rush of glittering warmth throughout her body, a soft trail of kisses that began at her throat and traveled down her body, fading away only slowly. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she could no longer sense him, his name caught in her throat, but then the battle between Obito and Danzo began, giving her another glimpse of the Kingdom Madara had kept from her.

And as Danzo destroyed his opponent, he turned to look up at her, as if aware of her presence, his eyes dark, challenging, and accusatory, as if he held it against her that she hadn't descended before the destruction of his dismal swamp. But then he smiled at her, which transformed his face, though the intensity of anger never left his eyes.

He turned and walked away, even as the trees shriveled around him, until there was only one tree left, larger by many orders of magnitude. When he reached it, he pressed his hand against the bark and Sakura watched with distant wonder as it shuddered beneath his hand like wet concrete, accepting his body as he slipped inside and disappeared from her sight even as the leaves turned grey-green and began to curl and drop from the limbs in a flurry of dead husks.

With dawning horror she watched as Obito destroyed the Orochi and Amanozako freed herself, for she knew what Obito did not. If Amanozako won here, she would usurp Sakura's place as the primary personality. And with their great enemy destroyed, there would be little to stop Amanozako from revenging herself of even imagined slights, blazing a bloody trail through Konoha and her enemies. And as Hokage and head of Root, Amanozako would be in a position to do far more damage than when she had first developed.

Because Root would not question, would not hesitate, to execute even the bloodiest orders.

She had come to stop a war, not to lay the foundations for a new one.

But Amanozako...she was a nightmare made real. Sakura would be at a loss to face her alone, for even more than the others, she would be wrestling with a part of herself. She had overcome her once, but it had been from a position of strength, binding her in chains and tucking her away like a secret best forgotten. But now the positions were reversed, for Sakura could not subdue in herself what now gave the monster below her freedom

Because she did wish to destroy Obito. For he was inextricably entangled with the suffering of the people she cared for. Itachi's monstrous choice, Sasuke's childhood crisis, every life touched and thereby damaged by the Akatsuki, even the village drenched in the blood of its own children, all of it could be laid at his feet. She had never hated anyone as she hated Obito, not even Orochimaru, nor Danzo.

It was overwhelming, all-consuming, a sickly-sweet satisfaction in itself as it dug barbed spines deep in her heart, like a poisonous silkworm spinning a cocoon of malice. Destroying Amanozako would mean crushing that part of herself. Amanozako was a perversion of the instincts that had equipped humanity for survival in a hostile world, populated with other animals far quicker, stronger, and more suited by nature for the role of a predator.

But without her, Sakura knew she could be left an empty shell. Aimless, without desire or ambition. It was the price she could pay, long delayed, for the foolishness of her childhood, separating her forceful self into the persona of Inner Sakura, in turns depending on her and shoving her away.

But when Sakura imagined once again Amanozako in her body, interacting with those close to her, she could only shudder. What would Itachi, Neji, and Sai think of her? What about her parents? Itachi and Sasuke alone might suspect the real cause, but that would only make it worse, for Itachi to know that she'd lost control of herself so completely. Perhaps he'd try, in his usual shouldering the burdens of the world way, to aid her and find himself destroyed for his trouble. Sasuke would kill her, in part for killing his brother, in part because it seemed his instinctual response nowadays to things that troubled him. And that would leave Neji and Sai and the rest of Root alone. Neji would soldier on, as he always did, but she knew he would take it hard. His recovery would be long, though she prayed that it wouldn't be as arduous as his time after his father died.

And Sai. Poor awkward, adorable Sai, who tried so very hard and was never afraid to stumble into a conversation and send it crashing to a halt. And then there was Root, who had obediently set off on her orders to destroy Obito's waiting forces before a war could even be declared. Prepared, every one of them, to accomplish their mission or die in the pursuit of it. Most of them were strangers to her, people she knew only through dossiers and brief glimpses of their faces when she asked them to remove the dehumanizing masks, finding their real faces just as unnervingly unemotional. But with time, it was possible to discover bits and pieces of personality, like a human jigsaw puzzle, the final picture not quite clear but distinct all the same. Such was the case of Nezumi-kun, her earnest page and maker of terrible tea.

Who would care for Root when she was gone? Would Naruto learn to accept Sai? Would Neji keep him company? Or would Sai seek it out for himself? She hoped so, that in five or ten years no stranger meeting him would suspect he had ever been one of Danzo's emotionless foot soldiers. She carried other hopes as well, and though she did not know if the kami's attention could be drawn in the darkness of her soul, she bowed and clapped and sent the thoughts along with all the energy she could spare.

She wanted peace for Itachi, joy for Neji, companionship for Sai, and recognition for Naruto. In this moment, she was full of desires.

Her hand shook as it dipped into her pouch, her movements clumsy as she sliced her finger deeply.

Chakra poured from her body, making her head pound and her eyes ache as the largest sealing array she had ever assembled burned through the cloudy water.

"Byakko-sama," she whispered weakly, "please."

Amanozako shrieked with anger, but could not approach the king of beasts and Sakura ignored Obito.

Naruto might have been able to summon the tiger in physical form, if he eked out all the Kyuubi's chakra and all but a tiny fraction of his personal chakra. Sakura had to be satisfied with a chakra construct, but even this was imposing, twice again as large as even Ekie Boshi, and like being in the presence of a kami. He blazed even under sunlight, so it was like inviting a star into the waters of her psyche, his stripes composed of white light. There was no further substance to him as he appeared to her, so she could peer through him, if she dared, to see Amanozako and the fallen lotus kingdoms, but it only served to make him grand and strange.

Sakura had never summoned Byakko. Not once in all the time she had borne the contract with the tigers. She had met him once, when she had first summoned Tatara. Later that evening, when she'd been just preparing for bed, Tatara had popped onto her balcony and delivered an express message from Byakko, who'd wished to examine their new summoner. She'd left that meeting with the impression she would have been eaten had she been found lacking and with an understanding of what it would cost to utilize the power of the divine guardian of the west.

She met Byakko's eyes, allowed the beast to search her thoughts, weigh her resolve, testing her desire against his ideal of righteousness.

Then, after what felt like an age but what was in reality only a moment, those smoldering eyes closed in a particularly feline gesture. "Agreed," Byakko rumbled, "if your resolve is strong enough, we will proceed according to your wish."

Sakura closed her eyes, her body relaxing, tears threatening to fall. "Thank you," she whispered roughly. "Thank you Byakko-sama."

And then her world lit with pain and there was nothing more, for Sakura had performed the only move that had always perplexed Orochimaru. Queen Sacrifice.


	40. Mono no Aware

Disclaimer: Until the end, I owned nothing. Except all the wonderful reviews. Those are mine. Just one more chapter left after this one.

A/N: Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks a shipping war would be funny. Check out Ace Clover's _Battlefield. _ /s/9317365/1/Battlefield

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Chapter Forty-

_Mono no Aware_

They caught each other's eyes and stilled, the red eye behind the orange mask glimmering with unhidden malice as it met flinty jade. Sasuke made to leap forward, but Itachi's hand clamped down on his wrist in a restraining grip. "Don't," he ordered, knowing that Sasuke knew full well that if the other Uchiha was using Tsukiyomi, killing him in the middle of the technique would leave Sakura trapped within the genjutsu until her chakra ran out and she died.

Sasuke snarled but halted his charge, his muscles still tensed for movement at the slightest indication that Sakura was no longer in danger. _What are you doing, Kakashi? _Itachi thought, brow furrowing, as he wondered why the pursuit squad had allowed the doppelganger team to draw to near to begin with. With the team members he had taken, even allowing for perfect replication of Sasuke's strength and speed, Kakashi should have been able to manage.

Without the favoritism of a brother speaking, sweeping aside the pride of the Uchiha, he acknowledged that Kakashi could defeat Sasuke. And with two of the four Shishin at his side, as well as Uzumaki Naruto, the other members of Sasuke's squad were inconsequential.

Movement from the two combatants drew his attention and Itachi tightened his hold on Sasuke. But he needn't have worried, for a piercing scream issued from behind the swirled mask, the man's spine arching as he clawed at some invisible enemy.

Sasuke made a sound of protest as Itachi drew Kusanagi, but wasn't quick enough to stop him as Itachi made their victory complete, the head toppling to the floor with a wet, heavy sound that was followed immediately by the impact of the body.

_We've won, Hokage-sama, _was perched on the tip of his tongue, but then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a fluttering wisp of pink, caught upon the air like the flag of a defeated general crashing to the ground.

The sound of her fall was softer than Tobi's, but it rang more loudly in his heart.

"Sakura!"

Itachi wasn't certain if it was his voice or his brother's, but in that moment, it did not matter.

They were both by her side, questing hands looking for a pulse that neither could find, Kusanagi dropped to the floor, abandoned and forgotten. "Sakura!" Sasuke growled, hands tight on her shoulders, "You promised you weren't coming here to die! Was that a lie?"  
Roughly, Itachi pulled Sasuke's head forward and down.

"What the hell?" Sasuke snarled, glaring at him.

"She made the seal dormant," Itachi murmured, "It should be killing you now, Sasuke. But she was so acutely aware of the possibility of her own death she made certain she wouldn't take you as well. Or was this her plan from the very beginning?" His hand dropped limply from Sasuke's neck. _You thought this way you wouldn't take away what is precious to me, but Sakura..._

Cautiously, Sasuke sat up, but then he started, staring at Itachi. "You're...crying."

Startled, Itachi brought a hand to his face, feeling the warm path of tears, fingers coming away damp. "So I am." Itachi closed his eyes, seeking his center, then taking a firm hold, ripped away his personal attachment to the situation. When he opened his eyes again, he saw not crippling tragedy, but only a path that branched out into a hundred possibilities. _I am sorry if this was your plan, Sakura, _he thought fiercely, _but I will not let this battle end like this . _

"Activate your Sharingan," he ordered. When Sasuke blinked at him, uncomprehending, he repeated the order and explained, "You have a secondary affinity for lightning. You might find this jutsu useful in the future." While he was speaking he was also moving, laying Sakura flat on the floor, slitting open her clothing in the front and sweeping them to the side. When Sasuke made a choked sound in his throat, he said scathingly, "If you want to apologize to Sakura when she has to pick bits of burned fabric from her skin, please, keep her modesty intact."

Focusing, for lightning was not his natural element, Itachi progressed through the handsigns that brought a charge to the palms of his hands, used by field medics in the absence of proper equipment to restart a heart, more reliable and less dangerous to the patient than an ill-administered injection of adrenaline, though Itachi was certain Sakura carried it in her kit.

He felt her heart jump beneath his calloused palms, then go still and silent once, so he repeated the jutsu. Again, then the unnerving ebb back into the quiet. "Aniki-." Sasuke whispered.

"Be silent," Itachi snapped.

Pressing his hands against the skin of her chest, Itachi prayed, something he hadn't done since he was a child, before he wore blood so thick on his hands that he left traces of it upon whatever he touched. _If ever our ancestors weren't reborn as lower beings as punishment for their deeds, if any of them were of enough merit to watch over us now, that sacred flame that burned so brightly in the Uchiha, relight the flickering spark of Sakura's life with it, _he thought fiercely. _Though I lost the right long ago to make offerings, and I have neglected the rites, I am still capable of breaking the tablets and scattering your ashes. I will destroy all the secret writings, purge that room with fire, and leave nothing but the tales of outsiders, who will soon forget any truths they knew. _

Itachi could feel a building awareness, like an approaching thunderstorm, and angry hisses like those of cats, but strength flowed into his hands and out through his palms, a heavy, throbbing force not unlike holding a still beating heart and trying to press it into her chest through force alone.

Then once more, he repeated the jutsu before her heart picked up the rhythm and settled into the familiar pulse of life. "Sakura," he whispered helplessly in relief, feeling the subtle pulse and ebb that represented mankind's tenuous hold on life. He waited for it to falter, but it soldiered on, steady and certain as Sakura's footsteps toward this battle had been.

Gently removing her white outer garment, he covered her and cradled her close to his chest as he stood. It became clear to him, in a flash of insight, what Sakura had come to mean to him in the short time he had known her. She had swept into his life like a tsunami, sweeping away his ties to Akatsuki and all his carefully laid plans, leaving a kind of desolation in her wake, but also a new beginning.

He was here, fighting by his brother's side, because Sakura had made it possible. Because Sakura had believed in it so strongly that she had made it a reality, daring to consider things that would have never have occurred to him. And all the time, underestimating herself and the effects she had on others, a deep and all-consuming insecurity. She didn't seem to realize how much Sai depended on her, like some people depended on sun, or wind, or rain. As if he always expected her to be there, ready to direct him and warmly accept his social missteps. Itachi had seen clearly the affection Hyuuga Neji nursed for her, the deep feelings that had caused him to separate himself from her so he could come to terms with them.

Itachi was suddenly furious with him, though the outcome of the battle would not have been changed by his presence. He was angry with Sakura as well, for discarding herself so easily, for having so little faith in their ability to defeat their enemy that she felt she had to sacrifice herself.

He had been amused by Neji's instant antipathy, because Itachi had never been his romantic rival, nor a professional one. There had been that moment of evaluation when he'd first come under Sakura's command, when he'd realized how easy it would be to fall in love with her as a woman, but that had disappeared so quickly that he had come to regard the situation with the near-condescending feelings of an older sibling.

For, after that first meeting, Sakura had ceased to exist as a "woman" in his mind. She was his captain, his general, his Hokage, transcending gender and ignoring age and experience. And he was a vassal grateful to serve her, though she made for a difficult and at times tiring lord. But she accepted, accommodated his passivity, Sai's need for orders, Neji's complex feelings about leadership and subordination.

But Itachi no longer felt so kind.

Neji had been given years, but had never taken advantage of them. Or, a fairer part of Itachi acknowledged, perhaps the development of his feelings had been more recent. But though Itachi knew that Sakura probably did not regard his actions as abandonment, he, who had supported her when her team had truly abandoned her, had been absent. There was no one to tell her that she shouldn't lay down her life in defense of her country so easily, no one to encourage her that they ought to struggle together rather than fall alone. No one but he and Sasuke, and it seemed that they alone had not been enough.

Itachi knew he did not deserve Sakura, but Sakura deserved someone. And he was here, alive, because of her actions. From the moment she had saved his life, it had always belonged to her. His feelings were not so tender and intimate as Neji's seemed to be, but Itachi's desire at this moment was to be Sakura's anchor to the present world, no matter what it was she needed to stay.

But he could not leave Sasuke. He could not leave his brother, whose needs must always come before his own, even the insistent desire of his heart.

He met his brother's eyes, only now aware that Sasuke had been staring at him. "Don't let the other Kage know any details. Announce that the enemy has been defeated. Show them the body, but don't let them investigate it. Tell them...tell them this is the force that Konoha has to offer. That if they cooperate in the Shinobi Alliance, it will minimize causalities for everyone."

Sasuke balked, his expression vaguely incredulous. "Even if the others deign to hear me out, that asshole the Raikage is going to accuse Konoha of some kind of asinine plot. And when that doesn't work, he'll try to solve it with his fists. If that little show earlier was any kind of example, even if I only intend to defend myself, drawing my sword will be seen as an act of aggression."

Itachi knew his stare was colder than Sasuke's words warranted, but with the weight of Sakura in his arms, knowing that his rudimentary medical skills wouldn't be sufficient if she went into cardiac arrest and that too many applications of his lightning jutsu would damage her heart so severely it couldn't be restarted even by Tsunade-sama, he had no patience for the bickering and political maneuverings of the Kage. Perhaps Sakura would be disappointed in him, but he barely had the patience necessary to issue the instructions to Sasuke and not simply walk away from this battle, regardless of the consequences.

It is possible to constantly discover new dimensions to oneself and Itachi was no exception. He found himself tired of noble sacrifice, his ability to hand over things he treasured for the greater good at full capacity. "Then do not draw your sword and do as you're told, Sasuke," he ordered his brother sharply. "Once you've finished, you can follow. We'll be returning to Konohagakure."

"Is it really alright to move her?" Sasuke asked skeptically. "The medics here won't be as advanced as in a shinobi country, but they surely have hospitals. You could send for someone from Konoha."

Itachi's hands tightened. "She's stable enough. But we shouldn't be wasting time. As soon as Sakura as conscious, she'll want to return to the battlefield. You're capable of bringing their agreement to Konoha. We'd need time to gather our own troops, at any rate. Do your best to give the impression that Sakura simply grew tired of their childish bickering, killed Madara, and went home to await their decision."

"You're really worried for Sakura," Sasukw said at last, then he shrugged. "I can take care of things here. I'll catch up, aniki. After all," he said with a wry twist to his words, "I've been chasing after you for a long time."

Itachi frowned at him but decided against an argument, intent on returning to the shady and protected forests of Konoha. Home. Safety. Belonging. They were all waiting. She only had to be willing to reach out and grasp them.

-X-X-X-

When Itachi entered the hospital room, he was surprised to find Sakura already had a visitor ensconced in her window, Sai seated comfortably on the sill, sketching the mundane scene below, a few sheets of discarded paper already scattered at his feet.

"I suppose this means the Sasuke pursuit squad has returned as well," Itachi commented and Sai hummed a reply, both looking up as the door slid open again and Neji entered. Tension spilled into the room as the Hyuuga glared tiredly at him.

"Why didn't you tell us the Akatsuki were capable of making undistinguishable clones of shinobi? Even their chakra systems are replicated."

Itachi blinked, having been expecting a far different accusation. But then the pieces coalesced in his mind. "You didn't miss your target. There were two different sets of Sasuke's Team Hebi."

Neji shook his head grimly. "We destroyed two sets. But we were fairly confident there were only three sets in total, judging from their comments. But still...if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes..."

Itachi frowned. "The ability is Zetsu's. But he should only be able to use it on himself. And his chakra would be insufficient to create and sustain so many clones. Unless-," a dark possibility entered his mind, "unless Madara-or rather, the Uchiha-discovered a way to replicate Zetsu himself."

"You mean-?"

"Yes. Actual cloning. Growing soldiers. Normally, it would be unthinkable, but Zetsu has many plant-like qualities even at the genetic level."

"How many?" Neji asked him bluntly. "Unless they're killing people and taking their place, it's almost impossible to hide an army of any size for a significant length of time. The need for supplies would make them traceable."

"Unless they were dormant," Itachi posited, the war ahead suddenly looking far more grim.

"Dormant?" Neji asked weakly. His eyes searched, as if by habit, for Sakura. Without it seeming conscious, his body relaxed as he took in the machines that delivered, beep by beep, the news that Sakura was only unconscious. "With their leader now dead, is it possible that they won't be activated?"

"Impossible to know," Itachi decided after considering the idea, finally crossing to Sakura's bedside and claiming one of the chairs that had been thoughtfully left for them.

As if to prove his superior claim, the Hyuuga perched gingerly on the edge of Sakura's bed, his hand seeking hers, as if to reassure himself that her skin was still warm with life.

"It's possible that they were all automatically awakened with his death as well," Sai contributed thoughtfully. "Danzo-sama passed his controlling seal to Sakura through a vector host, so the Uchiha might have had a similar mechanism in place."

In silence, the three of them contemplated the war that loomed before them. Neji clutched Sakura's hand more tightly. "Did the other Kage agree to cooperate?" Neji asked.

"Yes," Itachi said softly. "It seems the Kazekage has taken it on himself to coordinate the effort, in the name of their combined leadership. But all the nations will be contributing to the war effort."

Neji did not look comforted.

It was Sai, surprisingly, that changed the mood. "Sakura will lead us to victory. She always does."

"Even when your foes can take the form of your allies?" Neji asked.

Sai raised a brow. "Neither of you were much welcome in Sakura's Root offices, but Itachi, you at least ought to know that Sakura suspected the existence of an army or weapon capable of causing continent-wide conflict. You were only part of the early tracking phases, but Sakura had isolated a probable location for swirly-mask's base. And as of this morning, I am the only Root member left in Konohagakure. What does that indicate to you?"

Both Itachi and Neji were as flabbergasted as their stoic natures would allow. "She's already sent a pre-emptive strike," Neji replied slowly. "And if the army was dormant when they arrived..."

"They could potentially destroy it," Itachi finished the thought for him.

"While you were fighting a battle, Sakura was waging a war," Sai commented laconically. "For being the greatest wielders of your respective doujutsu, you're both unexpectedly shortsighted. Literally and metaphorically for red-eyes." He glanced up at them. "When Sakura walks so far ahead, does she really need either of you to support her?"

"What do you mean?" Neji asked defensively.

-X-X-X-

Sakura didn't feel ill, precisely, just achingly tired and hollow. She stared unseeingly at her ceiling, reflecting on the emptiness inside her. _This is a whole person? It's so...lonely. Silent. How do...how do people live like this? Is this how they go through their day, without having someone near at hand to help you work through your problems, without understanding your circumstances? They weren't _comfortable_, but now I see they were _comforting. _Especially Madara. Madara, who supported me, scolded me...seduced me. Will someone...make me feel like that again? As if I could change the very weft and weave of the universe by will and effort?_

_ Impossible, _she thought at last, flinging the arm without an IV across her face. Laying there, listening to the sound of her own breathing, she finally asked, "What is it?"

Familiar footsteps crossed the room and Nezumi crouched beside her bed. He stank like blood and ash. "Forgive me for disturbing you, Haruno-sama. Congratulations on your victories."

"And how did Root fair?"

"We completely eliminated the enemy's forces in the vicinity of the mountain you indicated. It was a very large army, but they appeared to be constructs, as they were all identical. They were dormant when we first approached, but woke when we raised the barrier and released Amaterasu. It was...difficult to maintain the barrier."

Sakura heard the pause in his voice, which in a Root member was a telling sign.

"How bad was it?" she asked softly, blindly reaching out the hand with the IV, twitching with surprise as Nezumi took it without hesitation, squeezing gently.

"There are only ten of us now, Haruno-sama, including the agent codenamed Sai."

Sakura felt warm tears leak out of her eyes, but her arm concealed them. She returned the gentle pressure of Nezumi's grip. "Well done," she said through her tears. "The worst of the war is over, then. That was the bulk of Uchiha Obito's forces and as he's dead as well, so any reserve forces should soon lose their coherence. And no one will ever know how close we came to destruction, except for the razed ground we left behind."

"Stay with me a while, Nezumi-kun?" she invited after a distinct pause.

"Of course, Haruno-sama."

When the silence had drawn long and sleep seemed no closer, she asked softly, "Nezumi-kun...tell me something...about emptiness."

She heart a faint rustle as he shifted. Sakura almost retracted her request, but Nezumi surprised her when his low, calm voice recited, "_Sora ni naru / kokoro wa haru no / kasumi nite / yo ni araji tomo / omoitatsu kana_." (A man whose mind is / one with the sky-void steps / into a spring mist / and thinks to himself he might / in fact step out of the world. ¹) Then, "Is there a reason you asked, Haruno-sama?"

"_Wabibito no / namida ni nitaru / sakura kana / kaze mi ni shimeba / mazu koboresutsu._" (When stung by the world, / man's tears spill drop by drop / like the cherry tree / whose petals scatter down when / whipped by cold winds.) She touched the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth, surprised as always that she could not feel the seal that bound the Root to silence except as a dormant chakra pattern. "I wasn't supposed to survive, Nezumi-kun."

He answered with the implacable logic only a Root member was capable of. "The fact that you survived is evidence that you were meant to, Haruno-sama."

-X-X-X-

The breeze seemed warm, but the body at her back was warmer still, arms wrapped loosely around her waist. They were corded with muscle, bare, and striped with dismaying black chakra, his fingers terminating in claws.

"Byakko-sama?" Sakura murmured, confused as to why he had chosen to take human form if he had simply returned to finish collecting the debt owed. "Why Madara's garden?"

The laugh that vibrated against her back was familiar, parts of her body tightening instinctively in response. "Because it is _my _garden," he whispered in her ear.

"Madara?" Sakura gasped, half-turning, though his grip didn't allow her to turn to face him fully. The stripes of chakra continued up his arms, his chest, even partially intruding onto his face, giving him a feral, demonic aspect that wasn't at all dismissed by his eyes, burning Sharingan bright.

"What Byakko demands is the _willingness_ to die for your cause. He is indifferent to your survival," Madara told her without being asked.

"You disappeared!" Sakura accused. "All of you!"

"Untrue. Orochimaru and Haku faded back into your consciousness, their sense of individuality destroyed. Danzo as well, though the part that remained Danzo returned to him in his place of punishment in the cycle of rebirth. The Root seal is now kept intact by your chakra."

"What about you? And Amanozako?" Sakura pressed.

Madara's claw-tipped hand traced a path up her ribs, beneath her breasts, to rest gently over her heart. She could feel the sensation of pressure from the sharply curved claws, but he did not break the skin. "Amanozako existed only because you feared yourself," he told her bluntly. "It was you who made her Other to begin with. Your fear of yourself created a sense of alienation so great that you conciousness was already beginning to fragment, long before you had ever heard the name of Uchiha Itachi. Had you fought her, your mind would have been permanently damaged. Any life Itachi might have been able to restore to you would have only been a living death."

"When you immediately used a technique that you knew full well would kill you, it was because of your subconscious recognition as Amanozako not as some kind of demon, but as an integral part of you. One which would only truly disappear when you did. Amamozako persists now as a part of you. She always will, because that's what it means to be human."

"Then I-" her own hand pressed down on his. "Then, I'm still...whole? Then why do I feel so empty?"

Madara chuckled. "You've simply grown used to constant companionship. Now, you'll have to seek it outside yourself."

"What about you?" Sakura asked, feeling a sudden premonition of being abandoned yet again.

"I stole a moment from your tiger king. Today we part, but in the next life, we will meet properly, you and I. And when you meet the real Madara reborn, remember me. I will surely entangle our destinies." His grip tightened for a moment, then relaxed as he guided her into a standing position and gave her a gentle shove. "Someone is waiting for you."

-X-X-X-

Neji slipped into the darkened room, only the light of the moon pouring in through partly open curtains providing illumination. The disturbed curtains indicated to him that someone had already been in to check on Sakura and he clicked the lock shut to at least deter interruptions.

Sakura's breathing remained even and undisturbed as he moved about the room, her chakra at a low ebb, but at ease. It was a sleep of bone deep exhaustion, nothing more. The moonlight washed out the vivid colors of their daylight life, giving her a surreal, ethereal appearance.

He frowned briefly down at her sleep, far from the security the nurses and medics at the hospital would have offered. Neji knew that it would work against them to have Tsunade only now waking from her coma and the acting Hokage hospitalized, but he begrudged public opinion for endangering Sakura.

With a sigh, he pulled the band from his hair and shed his armor, laying them out on the near-empty surface of Sakura's vanity, which seemed to also be serving as a desk, from the neat pile of scrolls that lay next to her hairbrush. His eyes traveling the soft lines that darkness gave to her room, he studied it briefly before returning his attention to Sakura.

Softly, he sank down next to her bed, pressing his back against it.

He exhaled slowly and let his head fall back, turning his head slightly to watch the small movement of a hand that hung just on the edge of the mattress. Soon Sakura had settled again and he thought about what he wanted to say to her. "It's probably better this way," he murmured to her, his voice soft and warm. "You're too used to getting your way conversationally. You're selfish like that," he complained fondly. "So just hear me out, please. Without interrupting. Just this once."

"I was going into battle, but a part of me was running away. It's easier to confront enemies than emotions," he said slowly. "But sometimes, I think we need to run away. When you run, it's harder to return, but you discover a lot about yourself in the process. I never ran from what I felt about the Hyuga clan, but that in its own way was a form of willful blindness as well. I was too close to the hate and the rage for what had been done to my father and myself, never stopping to consider what those feelings concealed. Fear. What if that same seal was turned on me? What if I was discarded just as easily? And I was supposed to entrust myself to someone like Hinata?" he scoffed softly. "I know better now," he admitted. "I know it was difficult for Hiashi-sama. And while Hinata will never be the kind of natural, charismatic leader you are, I also know that she has the fierceness of a tiger when she's found something to protect."

He paused. "Ah. I'm running away again. I didn't come here tonight to tell you about the Hyuuga clan. I have a question for you, Sakura. How do we learn about love? I suppose that's a little too broad. How do we learn how love is supposed to feel? How to act upon it? Is it instinct? Or is it something we learn?" Sliding one leg up, he rested an arm comfortably on it.

"Most people, I think, learn about love from their parents, while they're still too young to feel romantic love themselves. It sets the standard for what marriage is supposed to be in their mind. But my mother died before I was a year old and you already know about my father. Even Hiashi-sama's wife died years ago, right after giving birth to Hanabi. As for dating, I suppose we pick that up from other sources. Movies. Books. Our peers and sempai. But we're _shinobi_-it won't ever be that simple for us. Not in reality. Or maybe, for some people, it is."

"But not for me. And maybe not for you either. Part of me thinks I'm stronger, better for it. So much of that kind of affection seems situational, as if there's the danger that if they don't meet that specific _moment _to catch fire, they never will. But what I feel for you, there isn't one moment where I can think, 'There, that's when I started to like you.' It's years of them, one upon another. Actually, Hiashi-sama had to tell me that I was in love with you," he confided. "Friendship, respect, admiration, I knew what they were. And I felt them all for you. But I was also attracted to you. While I could imagine a future without you, there was something unbearably sad about it. When you've already become an integral part of my life, why should be embarrassing about admitting that I love you?"

"That's what this is," he clarified, his ears burning even in the dark. "A confession. A declaration. It's a little unorthodox to do this while you sleep, but I think it's alright. Because this isn't something I want to say to you. It's something I want to show you. Whenever you see me, I want you to be reminded that you are loved. Whenever you can't see me, I want you to know you are loved."

"Real love stories won't fit into an hour-long film. So, let's take our time," he proposed. " I can only promise what I have to give. I can't give you forever. I can't even necessarily give you tomorrow. That's the nature of our lifestyle. But if you can be satisfied with that, I can give you myself," he whispered softly, threading his fingers tentatively through hers, leaning upwards to press a kiss to the back of her hand. "I love you, Sakura."

-X-X-X-

A/N: In case Japanese poetry catches your interest, both poems are from this translation of Saigyō's poetry (and there are others):

¹Lafleur, William R. _Awesome Nightfall: The Life, Times, and Poetry of Saigyō. _Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2003. Print.

And, yes, you S.O.D. purists, I know that it was jarring, but the other option was for me to write the poetry myself. Something like:

_My life collected like _

_Dewdrops upon the grass and before I realized_

_The sun had risen high_

Which wouldn't even count as _haiku_, let alone _waka. _

And I caught some flack for the last one of these I did, but again, if you don't like, don't read. I post them because they're fun to write and I receive so many reviews cheering for one or the other. The canon section of the story ended. So, from here on out, **is an omake**.

"While you were fighting a battle, Sakura was waging a war," Sai commented laconically. "For being the greatest wielders of your respective doujutsu, you're both unexpectedly shortsighted. Literally and metaphorically for red-eyes." He glanced up at them. "When Sakura walks so far ahead, does she really need either of you to support her?"

"What do you mean?" Neji asked defensively.

"It is a well-respected method to consult the written work of acknowledged masters of a certain field to expand your knowledge, yes?"

Both Neji and Itachi nodded.

"Anko-san recommended to me the novels of Jiraiya-sama when I asked her to clarify certain accusations about the nature of the hag's relationships with the three of us. For example, I had never heard the term _ménage à quatre_, which turned out to be nothing more then an adaptation of the term _ménage à trois_, describing a domestic arrangement in which three people live in the same household and have sexual relations with each other."

Neji had paled noticeably and even Itachi could feel the tips of his ears flushing.

"Given that we do not live together, I informed Anko-san that she was mistaken. I did, however, take her advice regarding the novels of Jiraiya-sama."

Itachi coughed discreetly. "And how many of them did you read?"

"All of them. In order to really understand an author, it's important to read the entire range of his publications. Excepting _The Gutsy Shinobi_, all of them were erotica, so I believe I aware of the underlying framework and themes."

"You read...all of them?" Neji asked weakly.

Sai hummed an agreement. "The plots were repetitious and the books relatively short, so I read them all in a few days. For variety, I sampled the works of several other authors in the same genre as well, but as before the substance and subject were repetitious."

Neji and Itachi exchanged a glance, neither comfortable with the direction of this conversation. "Is there a reason you brought this up, Sai?" Itachi inquired.

"Wars end," Sai said, dropping another completed sketch carelessly to the floor. "And so do alliances. For now, the two of you cooperate under Sakura's command because we have a common enemy. In the novels, the characters acted in a bizarre ways, falling in love with their enemies and letting their feelings rule them on the battlefield, but neither of you will act on your feelings for Sakura until the major threat has been neutralized. But at that time..." he shrugged, discarding his current work without finishing it, furling up his papers and returning them to his pouch as he turned his full attention on the conversation.

He stared at them and tilted his head. "From my understanding, conflict between the two of you is pointless. Sakura is the hero, yes? So by the end of the series, she will have slept with all the secondary characters anyway."

There was flabbergasted silence from Neji and Itachi until Neji worked up the nerve to ask, "Sai, are you also interested in Sakura? Doing all this research seems a little excessive."

"Not to discourage you," Itachi interjected, "but wouldn't your Root training put you at a disadvantage for creating a meaningful relationship?"

Sai shrugged. "In Root, we are not allowed personal possessions until we reach a certain point in our training. So I would not be possessive. I am also very good at taking orders and the hag enjoys giving them. As for this 'meaningful' relationship you speak of, I don't quite understand how a 'meaningful' relationship differs from a normal one."  
"It implies a certain level of commitment," Neji responded warily.

"Ah. In that case, our relationship is already meaningful. Sakura controls my professional career, so if we formed a personal connection based on a sex, even if it went badly, we would not become strangers. Neither of us would be harmed by it." He blinked. "Sakura might be said to be the Sei Shonagon of our lives. We have belonged to her briefly, but none of us will ever become her sole possessor. If you want to progress with her, both of you ought to make peace with that."


	41. Goodnight, Konoha

A/N: There were times when I hated this story and despaired of canon, but it was thanks to all of you that I made it through. While I never owned the characters or created the world, I enjoyed the experience as much as any real author might. The pleasure of knowing you've created something of this scale and people have actually _read _it is something that I really treasured. I considered doing a ten-years later kind of epilogue to follow this, but this is the real end.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead

-Final Chapter-

Goodnight, Konoha

Tsunade was awake and recovering with alacrity. Obito was dead, his plans thwarted, the Akatsuki all dead or scattered, their potential threat nullified with the aid and cooperation of the major shinobi nations. Konoha was righting itself again, ever so slowly, though it would be irrevocably changed by its near brush with another war.

Sakura carefully folded her robes of office, laying her hat on top of them atop the desk that had been hers but briefly, in the office she had spent more time in as a jounin than she had as Hokage. They would later be ceremonially burned. This afternoon she was scheduled to give a speech abdicating her position and reappointing Tsunade. Sakura had served the shortest term of any Hokage, but she had averted a major war, briefly united the Shinobi Nations, and earned her place in the history texts as well as the bingo books. She would be out of office even before her face could be engraved on the mountain, but the vote had gone in her favor and there it would be placed, beside Tsunade's.

Tsunade, more informal than her predecessors, had actually had chairs brought in for her guests. Naruto had shoved them together and was using them as a cot, one arm flung over his face, humming along to some tune only he could hear.

He sat up so suddenly she was surprised he didn't topple off the chairs. "So, once you make baa-chan Hokage again, Team Seven will be able to go on missions together again, right? Because Sasuke-teme looked totally sour about it, but he said he would do it."

Sakura paused, her hands suspended above the robes. "Sasuke said that?"

"Well, actually the bastard said something like working with me again was going to be enough of a punishment the council shouldn't bother doing anything else, but you _know _that's Sasuke's way of being warm and fuzzy."

"Well, that's...reassuring," Sakura said dryly. "I thought for a moment we might have to ask Tsunade-shishou to evaluate him."

Naruto laughed. "So, yeah?" he prompted.

Sakura sighed and for the last time sat in the Hokage's chair, the great wooden desk that was perpetually half-buried with files a barrier between them. "Naruto," she said softly. "There's something I need to tell you."

"If this is about me being a gennin, that'll last for about twelve seconds once baa-chan gets back," Naruto boasted. "Or, hey, y'know, before you resign you could give me a field promotion."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "That happens in the field, hence the name, baka. We aren't in a state of war anymore, so I'd have to answer to the council for promoting you out of hand."

Sky blue eyes narrowed and he studied her. "What you want to tell me-I'm not going to like it, am I?"

Sakura smiled painfully at him. "This was my last mission, Naruto." She tapped the desk, the wood solid and comforting underneath her fingers. "After today, I won't only resign as Hokage. I'll no longer be an active ninja."

He was at the desk before she could even blink, hands slamming down explosively, papers fluttering around them like frantically beating wings. "Sakura-!" he protested in a strangled voice.

"I'm not-I can't-," Sakura swallowed awkwardly, then composed herself, feeling the sour taste of treachery threaten to close her throat. "Naruto, I was never meant for this." She indicated the office with a gesture. "Being in this office, being Hokage, it wasn't something I dreamed of. Because it was a dream outside my reach, outside my capacity. And they say that people are happiest when they have dreams they can grasp. Mine was altogether smaller." A nervous little laugh. "Of course, I never really thought I'd end up in ANBU either. That smaller dream...I can't even remember what is was anymore."

She couldn't voice aloud the content of that dream, the one in which she had the power to protect everything precious to her. Because it wasn't small at all.

Naruto frowned ferociously at her. "You're an idiot sometimes too, Sakura, if you believe that. Or maybe you're still treating _me _like an idiot. I'm not blind and I'm not deaf. What's the real reason you're resigning? It's not just 'cause you don't want to be Hokage. And it's not about ANBU either. Kakashi was ANBU too, y'know, but he's sticking with us."

Sakura's hands tightened into fists. "Tsunade-shishou explained the risk of permanent nerve damage when you modified your Rasengan, didn't she?"

Naruto nodded.

"That's an unintentional side effect. My poisons-some of them are designed to cause nerve damage," she said evenly. "My first encounter with Obito-," her throat closed off and it took her a moment to be able to speak again. "In the final battle against him, my heart stopped, Naruto. The muscle is permanently damaged, weakened. I have permanent nerve damage to my hands and feet from our first battle. I can't feel pressure, heat, or cold as acutely as I ought to." Anger built in her words, frustration at not being allowed to bow out with a polite excuse.

"Are you happy now, Naruto?" she snarled, coming to her feet and stalking around the desk. "I crippled myself as a ninja, because I wasn't good enough to face an opponent on equal terms. And I won't become an object of pity ever again. So I will retire in a blaze of glory and become head of the Haruno clan and let people gossip about what if without ever revealing to them what my victories cost me."

Slamming the door quietly behind her as she left Naruto in the office, she took a deep breath, calm replacing anger. She'd come to terms with her path before she'd attended the Summit. It had been for Naruto's benefit, that fiery display, but she still felt lighter, a little of her bitterness voiced. Because Naruto wasn't the only one who had wished for Team Seven to become the reality it had never really achieved in the past. "A clean break," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Having exiled herself from her own office, she made her way to Tsunade's hospital room, where the tetchy woman had set up a temporary base camp, reviewing all the reports of what had transpired while she was unconscious. A harried looking Shizune passed her in the hall, sparing her a tight smile before hurrying onward.

Tsunade glared at her as she opened the door, but when she recognized Sakura, she tempered the look. "Ah, Hokage-sama," she drawled.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Hello to you too, shishou."

"I'd say sorry, but it was somehow satisfying to know someone else had to deal with the headache for awhile. And from what I hear, you did a very fine job of it. So, what brings you here instead of memorizing your parting remarks?"

"I broke the news to Naruto," she told the older woman.

"The actual news or the 'I'm quitting being a ninja' version," she inquired, honeyed brow arching.

"The latter, of course. The former is privileged information between me, my Kage, and my handler."

Tsunade snorted. "So, when Naruto discovers you've taken over Jiraiya's role as a spymaster, you think he won't be angry? When you're going to use the Haruno clan trade connections to enter places Jiraiya never would have dared? Not to mention the fact you're taking the entirety of Root with you."

Sakura regarded the woman who had been mentor, guardian, and stumbling block in turns. "I know that Konoha shouldn't surrender any more military strength, but there's no place here for Root anymore. I'm clearing the way for Naruto."

Amusement lit Tsunade's eyes. "And hiding the worst of your sins at the same time. Not that I don't appreciate not having to clean up that mess myself-mass executions are so tacky, Danzo made them useless as real people, let alone as functional members of society, and it would have been foolish to simply leave them be."

Sakura did not deny the teasing accusation. "As for the other, it's not as if it's a lie. I will be the head of the Haruno clan. I will guide it, protect it, make it prosper. I can do both. I will do both. This is simply...a permanent, long-term, deep cover mission."

A wry twist moved Tsunade's lips. "I'm glad you think so now, but reality might disillusion you. You've never divided your loyalties before, so it will be hard on you, Sakura. But I think you'll do well, at both of them."

"Thank you, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura whispered, grateful for the words.

"So," Tsunade pressed and she leaned forward, "Sai, of course, will accompany you when you leave for your clan compound-I understand that your parents will remain here?"

"Yes. My mother wanted to live away from the clan and we have several warehouses here. My father travels regularly. I'll be apprenticing under my grandfather."

Tsunade hummed thoughtfully. "I've heard he's a difficult man, but good at what he does. Business will be a new direction for you, but you've always learned quickly. I think you'll have an advantage with your kunoichi training."

Sakura nodded.

"Itachi was in to see me," Tsunade mentioned casually.

"Oh?" Sakura was surprised, as she'd thought Itachi had always kept a polite distance from the older woman, as if he was aware of the political headache he represented, or perhaps he was simply wary of Kage, given his past experiences and knowing that while Tsunade was sympathetic to his situation, it wouldn't stop her from utilizing him every bit as ruthlessly as any of her predecessors.

"Here, sit," Tsunade invited, indicating the chair at her bedside. Hesitantly, Sakura approached and obeyed the directive. "Hyuga Neji will likely remain in ANBU. So Hiashi indicated when he came to visit me earlier. But Itachi has requested that he be released from his obligation to this village."

Only Tsunade's hand on her arm prevented her from rising from her chair. "What do you mean?" she demanded.

"Sit," Tsunade instructed. With marked reluctance, Sakura complied. "Don't be surprised if he comes to you and asks to accompany you. Perhaps even to be adopted into your family."

"But why?" Sakura asked plaintively. "Sasuke is safe. He's even in Konoha."

"Yes, he is. And, to an extent, the breach between brothers has healed. But the kind of betrayal Itachi committed, no matter the reason, isn't something so easily forgotten, even if Sasuke learns to forgive. He will never fully trust his elder brother again, just as he will likely never trust a Hokage who is not Naruto. Itachi said that Sasuke wanted to restore the clan, start a family."

Sakura nodded slowly. "Yes, but why-? He doesn't really think Itachi would murder his children, does he?" she asked incredulously.

"We are not always entirely rational when it comes to those we love," Tsunade told her, "and Itachi's actions tormented him in nightmares for years. Sasuke isn't afraid of his brother, but he is reasonably wary of what he is capable of. No matter how hard he pushes himself or how hard he trains, he will never advance beyond Itachi. And that, to Sasuke, is unacceptable."

"But that's not Itachi's fault."

"No. He was simply born with a gift and had the fortune to be part of a clan who honed and perfected that inborn talent. But whatever you might think, he was also the one who accepted the mission to massacre his family. You look at it from an outsider's perspective, assessing risk and reward, but imagine it from Sasuke's point of view."

Sakura took into account Sasuke's obsessive personality, his deep-rooted childhood trauma, even the gaping emptiness that living within the Uchiha compound would bring to the surface. And yet she could not forget Itachi's warmth, his kindness, or his absolute dedication. "I still don't understand," she murmured.

"Well, you've never resonated particularly well with Sasuke," Tsunade replied prosaically. "Even if you cannot fully understand it, respect that it is his point of voice."

"His own point of view or his point of view filtered through the lens of Itachi's own guilt?"

"In this case, that doesn't matter. Whether or not Sasuke actually believes this isn't something I'm in a position to know. The little brat certainly hasn't visited, even to apologize for the trouble that he caused. What matters is what Itachi wants to do. He first lived his life under the thumb of his family, then under the orders of his superiors."

"But for a shinobi, that isn't unusual," Sakura pointed out. "It's not even particularly unusual outside our profession either."

"No. But I believe that people should be free to take their own future into their hands, if they so choose. I left this village for a very long time," she continued, her eyes focusing on a distant point. "They said they didn't send a team after me because I was worthless as a ninja because of my paralyzing fear of blood, but really that should have made me even more vulnerable to capture. And I was valuable, not only for my knowledge, but for my lineage. In all fairness, my team leaving the village ought to have been considered an act of treason. Do you know why it wasn't?"

"In consideration of your past services?" she hazarded. "Because fear of blood or not, you're entirely capable of beating someone to a pulp?"

"That too," Tsunade said dryly, "but more because Kage are also first of all human. That's the most vital element to successfully managing a hidden village, where every aspect of human nature is pushed to extremes by training and missions. It's considered politically acceptable to use a tool until it breaks. So long as your personal morals don't get in the way," she qualified with a wry expression. "Unfortunately, it seems I've gone a little soft in my old age. I'm willing to hand Itachi over to you, even though the elders will kick up a fuss."

Sakura raised a pink brow. "If Itachi really wants to retire, why not hand him over to himself? After all, I'm resigning from active duty and I already hold the physical well-being of one Uchiha in my hands. I'd become a liability if I took custody of another. And," she told Tsunade earnestly, "I really don't think I could survive the irony of taking guardianship of Uchiha Itachi, who might be able to kill me in his sleep. Also, on a technicality, I'm not even of age yet."

Tsunade snorted. "We send you on assassinations when you've barely hit puberty. If I declare you an adult, then you are."

"That aside, if you really want to free Itachi, then shouldn't you do it without conditions?"

"I am doing it without conditions," Tsunade told her. "These are Itachi's."

Sakura was dumbfounded. To be offered exit from the village without conditions was something almost unheard of. She had mentioned it more to make a point than with any conviction that it was even a possibility.

"He isn't asking for exile, Sakura. He's looking for a new home," Tsunade told her softly. "You gave him this one back, so perhaps thinks with you is a best place to find a new one."

"He's not a puppy," Sakura protested mulishly.

"Well, he did say he was worried about some terrible habits of yours. He didn't want you to work yourself to death before you turned thirty."

Sakura frowned at that. "So says the man who persisted with a terminal illness."

Tsunade smiled at her and clasped her hand, lacing her fingers between Sakura's. "Just remember there is no such thing as a clean break, Sakura. While you managed to resolve your own situation, remember that the ties that bind you to others tug at them when you move." She tugged at their conjoined hands to demonstrate. "Neji, Sai, Itachi-no matter how short a time you commanded them, you became a family. And you don't abandon family."

-X-X-X-

Itachi looked up from his place on the veranda of his childhood home as he saw Sakura enter the empty district the Uchiha had been relegated to. When he'd spoken earlier to Tsunade, he'd suggested reintegrating it into Konoha proper, but she'd replied that the opening of the district would be up to Sasuke's discretion, as he would be head of the Uchiha clan.

Sakura looked troubled, which likely meant she had either broken the news to her teammates of her intentions or she had spoken to Tsunade and been informed of his.

When she would have spoken, he held up a hand to forestall her. "Whatever you have to say, we might as well speak in comfort." He took a subtle and calming breath as he ducked inside the shadowed house to retrieve extra cushions and the tea things. "It's not imported or expensive, but my mother liked this brand best. She only served it when we didn't have guests. I suppose she thought it was beneath the matriarch of the Uchiha clan," he confided conversationally. "My mother was kinder than my father, but they were an excellent couple. Their priorities and their goals were so similar as to be inseparable. And my father loved her very deeply."

Brows drawing together, she sat with her legs to one side, informally, and he relaxed. Even if she was perturbed, she wasn't angry. "It's unusual for you to talk about your family," she said as she watched him add the tea leaves.

While they steeped, he replied, "It feels disrespectful, somehow. As if I have no right to speak about them. Sasuke certainly thinks so."

"Did he say something?"

"He didn't need to. He is my little brother, after all."

She shifted on her cushion and her gaze grew more direct. "Itachi-," she hesitated, then admitted, "I visited Tsunade today."

"And she told you that I wanted to accompany you?"

"Why go so far as to even mention adoption?" Sakura asked bluntly.

"Is it so difficult to imagine wanting to leave these eyes of misery behind?" Itachi asked her with equal directness.

"They're a source of considerable power," Sakura replied cagily as she accepted a cup from him.

"But power alone cannot bring happiness," Itachi retorted. "It certainly never brought happiness to the Uchiha. I returned for Sasuke and his happiness, but now that he's returned, I only stand in the way of that."

He watched as she grew affronted on his behalf, the thoughts almost visible as she tried to wrestle with the idea of giving way, something he suspected she thought of as a tactical move to advance, not something she practiced outside of battle. Sakura had a single-minded determination to make things go her own way that broke down all obstacles in her path, but he could see it was breaking her down too, the tiredness that couldn't be banished by physical rest alone lurking in her eyes.

"Sakura," he said and the name without suffixes was enough to draw her attention. "Your battle with Obito-it was fought primarily on a plane none of us could see. He was not Madara, but he was powerful. You haven't spoken to anyone about it, which leads me to believe your mental injuries were...extensive," he said carefully, watching the expression on her face. "To the point where they caused your heart to stop."

She tried to smile, but it was at odds with her body language, her shoulders coming forward as she hunched into herself ever so slightly. "It's foolishness, isn't it? Orochimaru, Madara-," she hesitated, then said, "and the others, they were all evidence that something was _wrong_. It's like," and she struggled visibly to find a metaphor, "you go in to the doctor's for a regular exam and they discover tumors in your brain, operate immediately, and save your life because they manage to remove them entirely without any damage to surrounding tissue. You're not supposed to miss the disease," she whispered brokenly.

"And they weren't good men, Itachi," she admitted. "But they were _excellent _shinobi. They never faltered, not even once, not even against Obito. And I _miss_ them, dammit." Tears began leaking from the corners of her eyes and she wiped them away angrily. "They're gone. All of them."

Startled and a bit worried, as he had never seen Sakura cry when not fevered and near hallucinating, Itachi hesitantly crossed to her side, waiting for his captain to impatiently shoo him back to his cushion, frustrated and embarrassed by her show of emotion. But it appeared to be worse than he thought, for Sakura allowed him to settle next to her, her lips twisted into a firm line of barely suppressed grief. "I lived with them," she told Itachi. "I dreamed of them. For over three years, I have _never _been alone. Everything I was able to accomplish, every mission beyond what was expected of me, every necessary ruthless step, they showed me the way. Almost everything I am as a shinobi, I owe to them."

Itachi frowned at her, then, carefully, caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, gently forcing her to meet his eyes. "That," he said, "is a lie."

Her brows rose, unconvinced of his argument.

"You built yourself, Sakura. Perhaps more than anyone else I know. My clan shaped me, as Neji's clan did, as Danzo broke Sai down and rebuilt him. But you-you created yourself. Orochimaru, Madara-they were a part of you. They both were and were not Haruno Sakura, but they were born from your mind, sustained by your body. Obito, did he...?"

"He killed them, except for Madara and Danzo, but they perished as well, when everything disintegrated," she murmured, so low that he almost had to read her lips. A single teardrop finally gained enough weight to escape her eye, trickling down her cheek. "They aren't there anymore, Itachi. I can't even return to where they were anymore. No one's kingdom still stands. Death-that's the cost of the contract with Byakko-sama. That's why that tiger scroll was locked in a vault and forgotten."

He silently requested an explanation and it was a measure of how experienced Sakura was in interpreting nonverbal cues that she complied even through her tears. "I didn't tell you everything," she confessed. "Just admitted what Sasuke had already discovered."

Itachi searched the premises with his chakra and found no one close enough to overhear. Sasuke was attending a hearing regarding the fate of the rest of his team, who had finally been interrogated thoroughly enough to satisfy the elders. He wouldn't be back until very late and there was no one else who would call on Itachi. Not here, at least, without the neutral ground that an office supplied, the imaginary barrier of a desk between himself and his guest. Not here, where he'd already spilled so much blood.

"Sakura," he said quietly. He was prepared to extend the silence, wait for her to make her decision to trust him or struggle onward, but again he was surprised.

"It started when I first met you," she said, pulling away from his grasp, retreating both physically and mentally. Her eyes fixed themselves on the house across the street, long empty, the colorful lanterns taken down. "Or, rather, when I first met your Sharingan."

"I remember."

She frowned. "When I first graduated from the Academy, I was slotted as a genjutsu type. However," her lips turned down more deeply, "I never received any training in genjutsu beyond a simple release technique. But when I destroyed your technique, I turned it inward, mutating it, I suppose. That's when Orochimaru was born. There were others. Ones Sasuke never met. And each of them dwelt within a different landscape. They represented an enormous advantage to me in terms of being able to access subconscious memories and impressions. And they were advisors, mentors. But they were also a significant threat. You're fairly familiar with disassociative personality disorder? Mine was peculiar, perhaps because of the genjutsu incident that sparked it. But not that unusual. There was always the possibility that I could become the latent personality, that they could walk around in my body, doing as they pleased. And that," she whispered, "was frightening. I always had to be strong. Always. Because I refused to be subsumed. But now that I don't have to be so strong, I'm afraid of crumbling."

"Because a hero without a villain is no hero at all," Itachi replied.

"Yeah."

Itachi hummed thoughtfully. "What you experienced was a loss. And though they did not exist by conventional standards, to you they were still important people. If you need to grieve them, do so," he ordered. "There's no one here to see you, Sakura."

"Only you, Itachi," she replied.

He smiled faintly back at her. "I'm here to catch you in case you fall," he told her.

She peered at him and for a moment he felt the old fear, because it still seemed as if she could see too much. "No," she said at last, wiping away the remnants of her tears.

Itachi found himself slightly dumbfounded, because she had given every indication, only moments ago, of being a single step from transitioning to earnest tears. "Why?" he asked.

"Because you would never allow me to catch you," she answered. "This is where your relationship with Sasuke failed, Itachi. You're a stranger to reciprocity. I won't show you my tears until you're prepared to cry on my shoulder."

"I don't-."

"Cry? Well, perhaps not externally. But you certainly feel sadness. And you never share it, do you?"

Itachi smiled more genuinely at her. "You returned me to Konoha. You did it in a way that kept my personal honor and the dignity of my clan intact. And you gave me back my brother. There have been far fewer things to be sorry about after meeting you Sakura, than have been in my life for many years.

"If you're happy, why do you want to leave?" Sakura asked, bringing the conversation again to the point that had brought her to the district, not even her own emotional distress enough to distract her from her goal.

"Because it's not a selfish kind of happiness. Besides, isn't it a little rude of you to dismiss me when I try to pay back your kindness?" he chided.

A pink brow soared. "By dedicating your immediate future to me?"

"By entering enemy territory by my captain's side," he retorted. "Neji cannot follow you. And this is a battlefield Sai is unsuited for. You intend to pretend that the Haruno are welcoming you with open arms, but you spent most of your youth preparing to be a career kunoichi rather than assuming the mantle and responsibilities of the heir. It had even gone so far as your parents considering adoption to hand off the headship within the family. But you then decide to assume that position, which puts all the other candidates and their parents in an unenviable position. Though they have been groomed since they were very small to take over control of the Haruno clan, it will be a relative stranger who on strength of kinship alone acquires what they had to maneuver and fight so hard to draw close to. They will not welcome you, Sakura."

By the expression in her shadowed green eyes, he was telling her nothing she had not already taken into consideration and dismissed. "I will be taking the remainder of Root with me," she told him, tone just slightly defensive.

"Because entering into a situation fraught with such tension with the equivalent of your own personal army will no doubt diffuse the situation," Itachi remarked sardonically. "Or perhaps you think that ten ANBU-class operatives will put your relatives at ease."

"No. But it will stop them from striking carelessly."

"You don't feel any guilt at commanding Sai to follow you. And you would barely protest if the Hyuuga decided to do the same. Do you feel that I am somehow less than them? Less free to make my choices?" He gazed narrowly at her. "I can see that you do. You think sacrifice has become a habit I cannot break. But I have no desire to fall in line with the elders' plans for an Uchiha revival. And I have no ties beyond this village anymore. So use me, Sakura, as I use you to escape. I was trained to assume control of a clan and your civilian family cannot compare to the infighting among the Uchiha."

She stared at him hard for a long moment and he thought she would refuse, but then her expression cleared. "What a bold declaration," she said dryly, "when you haven't met them yet."

Relief permeated his body. "Thank you, Sakura."

"Thank after you've endured Grandfather's criticisms for a decade," she retorted.

He smiled at her, then allowed his expression to turn gently teasing as he closed the distance between them. "But I'm grateful now," he murmured, pressing his lips briefly against hers. She looked as if she would have been less surprised had he stabbed her with a kunai as he drew back. "And I'll always be grateful, Sakura. Just as, after this, I'll always be by your side."

-X-X-X-

Sakura's path crossed with Sasuke's as she walked the streets of Konoha, idling away hours as her feet led her through tiny alleys and down crowded roads lined with shops. It was a near deserted residential area, so she knew that it was no coincidence. Sasuke wanted to speak, but from his even expression, Sakura gathered that he did not want to be the one to speak first.

"I don't want our conversations to be nothing more than accusations," Sakura said softly. "But why are you allowing Itachi to believe you don't trust him?"

Sasuke's serious mien didn't falter. "Would you rather he stayed and was consumed by his guilt?" he asked her. "He'd never be selfish enough to leave, so I'm setting him free."

-X-X-X-

The Root archives and offices were gutted shells of their former selves, only Danzo's desk and calligraphy the last reminder of the man who'd shaped the underbelly of Konoha politics for decades. The remaining ten members of Root were ranged before that desk, where she sat for the last time, though she felt less of a stranger her than she had in the office of the Hokage.

No longer did they wear the dark hoods of Root or the uniforms of ANBU. And for the very first time, they stood before her unmasked. No longer soldiers of the village, they were now her soldiers. Her household. Her family. Her responsibility.

Sakura sighed softly, pushing away the odd dream she'd had in which Neji had confessed to her and the even more peculiar reality of Itachi's kiss. "You must be aware that the political climate of Konoha is changing. There's no need for mindless automatons. No place for living weapons. All of you have been discharged from the ranks of Konohagakure no Sato. Once, the faction of a defeated leader might have been asked to commit suicide." The ten shinobi in front of her did not react to that, except perhaps Sai, whose brow quirked.

"Instead, you'll be reconditioned," Sakura announced. "The village has crafted programs designed to desensitize in the past. At its most basic, it's present in the Academy curriculum. It is unprecedented, however, to need to resensitize shinobi, so I expect there will be times when we stumble. However, this is a mission with an open-ended time frame, so there's no need for haste. You'll have the rest of your lives to discover what it was you lost."

A handsome young shinobi with shining blue-black hair pulled up into a tail raised his hand, as if he was an Academy student, brow furrowed faintly. Sakura nodded and he spoke. "Don't we present a significant security risk?" The voice was familiar, as was the face, and it took her only a moment to recognize the ninja she knew as Nezumi, her aide.

"Well, yes. Implied in this agreement is limited freedom of movement. I have also resigned my position and will be taking up residence in the Haruno clan compound, which you know to be located outside Konoha. Consider yourself on probation."

The ninja before her mulled that over.

"What's your angle, hag?" Sai asked. "There are alternative arrangements that could have been made. It would have been easier to leave all of us to Tsunade-sama."

Sakura smiled, caught between bitterness and affection. "We stopped a war," she said softly. "And there are just over a dozen people who will ever know. The people in this room, myself, and Tsunade-shishou comprise the bulk of that number. If you and your comrades had not eliminated the dormant Zetsu army before it could properly awaken, it would have made this 'war' we experienced look like a brawl between Academy students. Your sacrifice should not be overlooked. This is not a punishment," she explained. "What I have told you is the truth. There is no place for Root in Konoha anymore." Then, leaning into the palm of her hand, she gave her subordinates a coy, Cheshire grin. "It's time for the great tree to spread its root, to feel the vibrations deep in the earth. Officially, you will become my retainers. Unofficially, we will replace the vast and much-missed intelligence network formerly managed by Jiraiya-sama."

Normally so stoic, it was actually possible to see the relief in the Root shinobi. Upon consideration, she supposed depriving them of their primary purpose-their existence as a weapon-had been asking them to commit a kind of suicide. But now, supplied with a new objective, she could not sense hesitance from any of them. "I leave three days from now," she announced. "Please be ready to depart then."

A chorus of affirmative replies met her and the majority took their leave, only Sai and the ninja she knew only as Nezumi remaining.

While in a state of approaching war, the latter fact had never bothered her, but she turned her attention to the boy and admitted, "Nezumi-kun, I can't recall your birth name."

He didn't seem bothered by her lapse in memory and shrugged, a miniscule movement. "I see nothing wrong with being addressed as Nezumi."

"Aa," Sakura borrowed an Uchiha-ism rather than wasting her energy explaining that being satisfied with being addressed by a code name that wasn't even terribly personalized was yet another of the things that would need correction in the future.

She turned her attention to Sai as Nezumi seemed content to observe her from his position, which was at least an improvement from lurking behind her shoulder. For someone so ready to produce poetry at a moment's notice in the middle of the night after delivering the news of the demise of most of his comrades, there was another of those peculiar contradictions created by Danzo's training, much like Sai's immense creative drive as compared to his cute but crippling lack of social graces.

But Nezumi claimed her attention once again when he spoke. "I would like to continue in my position as your aide, Haruno-sama."

Sakura blinked. "Yes, I don't see any problems with that."

Nezumi nodded sharply. "Thank you, Haruno-sama. Will you be staying in your office? Should I fetch tea?"

"Ah, no. I was planning on leaving soon. Thank you for the offer, Nezumi-kun."

Bowing, the shinobi took his leave and left Sakura staring after him.

"It seems imprinting is possible in humans after all," Sai said thoughtfully.

Sakura blinked, startled. "Beg your pardon?"

Sai met her gaze with an expression clear of irony. "It's a process most famously observed in birds, especially waterfowl, in that the first-."

Sakura held up a hand to forestall his explanation. "As it relates to Nezumi, Sai."

"Ah. In that case, you are exposing them to their first emotional experience and forcing them into roles outside their existence as weapons. Isn't it obvious that they will latch on to you?"

"Is that what you're doing, Sai-chan?" Sakura asked teasingly.

Sai smiled. "I'm not that desperate, hag."

Sakura mock-frowned at him. "Are you going to call me that forever?"

"Do you prefer Sakura-nyan?" he asked, deadpan.

Sakura flung her shoe at him, which he caught adroitly. "Please don't say things like that with a straight face," she grumbled. "And never in public."

He returned her formal-wear shoes to her, ninja sandals discarded to lend credence to the impression that she was leaving military life to enjoy a splendid retirement in the private sector. Slipping it back on her foot, she worried her lip and checked the copy of her speech she'd tucked inside her sleeve. The content hadn't changed, but she was still nervous, her swearing-in having been so rushed there had been no time to gather the sort of crowd her abdication would bring.

There had been some opposition, a small section flatteringly severe, to her stepping down and returning the mantle to Tsunade, with the express intention of never accepting it back. Continuing peace was something both shinobi and civilian treasured, so though they would never know of Root's sacrifice, the combined citizenry of her village was grateful to their Kage. And impressed by her, if the people were half so eager to praise her as the newspapers, who'd started making uncomfortable comparisons between her and her predecessors.

She was warmed by their affection, unnerved by their praise, but she didn't really regret leaving the office of Kage. Where the legends ended, paperwork began, and she was more than happy to leave that burden to someone more eager for the duty. She regretted that she would no longer be an official shinobi of Konohagakure, a title she'd prided herself on more than anything else for years, but it wasn't all sacrifice on her part.

Besides the obvious fiscal benefits of being an Haruno, she would now have time to travel, something Naruto had already done with Jiraiya but she'd never had the opportunity to do outside of missions. She could also contact various masters of the five styles of her taijutsu repertoire and finally advance beyond the basics of each, her flexibility rather than her total mastery having seen her through all her battles thus far. She could read things that weren't dossiers and jutsu scrolls. She could...she faltered then.

_It isn't terribly convincing when you have to talk yourself into it, _she thought with a tinge of despair, but then she shook off the gloom and firmed up her spine. "Sai-chan," she said, standing and tucking her speech away, "it's time for our last public appearance." She offered him her hand. "Won't you accompany me, one last time?"

Sai stared at it askance. "This is hyperbole, correct? Because I will be accompanying you several places after this, not least of all to get groceries." He reached into his pouch and produced a sheet of paper. "Your mother gave me a list. And instructed me to invite Itachi and Neji as well."

Sakura's jaw almost dropped. "I haven't even resigned properly yet and she's already making me run errands on the day of my resignation?"

"Your mother is similar to you in many ways," Sai informed her smugly.

-X-X-X-

As her large traveling party gathered at the gate, the cheers of the crowds still rung in her ears. Well-wishers had stopped her constantly this morning as she ran some last minute errands, making this parting even more difficult.

Neji eyed the group waiting on her by the gates, dressed as civilians though their aura and rigid stance marked them as shinobi. "Your grandfather might have to build a wing to house your entourage," he commented.

Sakura laughed, picturing in her mind the extensive complex that could house both the Hyuuga and the Uchiha at the height of their power with comfort. While their own compounds were limited by the space available within Konoha, which was limited due to the dense urban population, the Haruno compound had been built on extensive land they owned, then warehouses and what had eventually developed into a small town composed of employees and their families had naturally developed around the structure. So its size had been limited only by capital, which had not been in short supply.

The first time she had visited, it had been a shocking contrast to the small, modest house her family occupied in Konoha. Of course, her impression of the house had been powerfully colored by her first meeting with her grandfather, who managed to make Hiashi-sama look child-friendly.

"An entourage is important," she replied light-heartedly. "It's the civilian equivalent of coming heavily armed to a battle."

"Yes, well," he said skeptically, "perhaps if you had people in your entourage capable of functioning well in a civilian environment, let alone in trade, I might feel more confident."

"There's Itachi," Sakura pointed out, tilting her head toward the man who least looked like he'd been asked to march to an execution ground. In contrast to the tense Root members, Itachi looked more relaxed than she'd ever seen him, speaking to his brother. Sasuke was wearing a sour look, so Sakura assumed Itachi was enjoying himself.

Their eyes met by accident and his lips quirked. Sakura flushed, which Neji noticed. He frowned, but then the unhappy twist of his lips smoothed out. "Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"You would agree that a good partnership is like a good marriage?"

Glancing at Neji, who provided a severe contrast to the others in ANBU uniform, she formed her answer cautiously, not quite certain where he was leading with his conversational gambit. She told herself sternly it had nothing to do with that peculiar dream, but she still felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "By definition, a good marriage is a good partnership," she agreed. "Mutual respect, shared goals, interest in the well-being of your partner."

Neji nodded thoughtfully at each of her points. "And you'd agree that we've had a very good partnership for many years? After all, most of your career as an active ninja was spent in a two person squad with me, if you had a partner at all. And then you recruited me for your ANBU squad, when Tsunade-sama would have given you almost any shinobi that you asked for. I take that to mean you weren't disappointed with our partnership."

"Of course not!" Sakura protested. "That partnership meant-you showed me that I was _capable _of being someone's partner. Team Seven never taught me that."

Neji smiled at her. "I'm glad. Because that partnership meant a great deal to me as well. I don't know if Tsunade-sama told you yet, but I'll be your liaison. Our point of contact will be the onsen where we had our first mission. I think it would be in our best interest to keep any cover believable, so perhaps an illicit relationship with a shinobi would be suitable. The Haruno clan would certainly disapprove, especially if you regarded that shinobi as a candidate for marriage. And this charade could go on for years. So prepare to be lavished with attention, my dear Sakura," he warned her, tone gentle, warm, and somehow _close. _Sakura flushed as pink as her hair when his lips brushed against the scar on her face, his fingers tracing it when he pulled away.

"I never thought I would be grateful to an enemy," he confessed, "but with this, you'll always remember the days when we were the Shishin, every time you look in a mirror. And, perhaps, it will also allow you to divine how earnest your new suitors are. Without this, you'd certainly be a target too tempting for the spoiled heirs of merchant clans."

Sakura wasn't certain if one should experience anxiety from being paid too much attention, but she was certainly beginning to feel as if her heart was in danger of stopping again. Neji reached into his kunai pouch, retrieving a dagger whose sheathe and hilt were decorated with polished abalone. He pressed it into her hands. "Stay safe," he murmured, "and come back to me."

-X-X-X-

"Are you really leaving?" Naruto murmured, eyes not meeting her own.

She smiled one last time for him, infusing it with all the youthful brightness and fondness she could conjure. "I'll come back for your swearing in ceremony," she promised him. "So this isn't a forever kind of parting. This is just goodbye for a little while. This is the cost of a meteoric rise to power, so take your time, Naruto. Enjoy every precious moment."

"But you will come back?" he pressed.

"I love Konohagakure too much to stay away forever," she explained with a laugh. "And so long as the people I love are here, I won't ever be able to abandon it."

The End

A/N: Abalone shell (naga-noshi) is the first of nine gifts exchanged in traditional Japanese engagement ceremonies. Google yui-no if you're curious.


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